Democracia em uma Europa pós-crise econômica: semelhanças e diferenças no panorama político europeu entre as décadas de 1929-1939 e 2008-2018

Abstract

This research aims to compare the effects that the economic crisis of 1929 and 2008 had over European democracy 10 years after each of them. Thus, there is a discussion about what democracy is and, also, a conceptual exploration of totalitarianism experienced during the 1930s in an attempt to establish comparative parameters. An overview of the historical events and realities of each period was also made, in order to offer a panorama of the transformations experienced by the continent during the two selected decades. It was possible, therefore, to extract some conclusions about the recent developments on the continent, as well as their similarities and differences with the past. Therefore, using a historical-comparative methodology, it was possible to extract some conclusions about recent developments in the continent, their similarities and differences in regard to the past. It was observed that, though there were many political transformations in modern Europe, democracy in the selected countries did not suffer serious setbacks after the 2008 crisis, nor can the antidemocratic elements that gained momentum in recent years be clearly equated with the totalitarian movements of the 1930s, since they represent political expressions conditioned by a very different set of historical conditions.