The military is an important factor for the success or failure of democratisation processes. Portugal and Spain provide two paradigmatic cases. Despite their socio-economic, political and cultural similarities, these countries developed very different civil-military relations which significantly impacted their transitions. After having handed power over to a civilian dictator, Salazar, the Portuguese military eventually caused the downfall of his authoritarian Estado Novo regime and steered the transition to democracy. In contrast, the Spanish military, which had helped Franco defeat the Second Republic, remained loyal to the dictator’s principles and, after his death, obstructed the democratisation process. Drawing on primary and secondary sources, this interdisciplinary article contrasts the challenges posed by the military and the policies implemented by the Iberian governments to depoliticise and control it. It shows that the failed coups d’état in these countries helped tighten civilian control and paved the way for democratic consolidation. Using a policy instruments comparative framework, this paper demonstrates that not only the attitudes of the military but also the tools used to keep them under control were substantially different in Portugal and Spain. Historical legacies from the Spanish Civil War, Second World War and Colonial conflicts, as well as contextual factors, serve to explain this variation.

军事是民主化进程成败的重要因素。葡萄牙和西班牙提供了两个典型案例。尽管这些国家在社会，经济，政治和文化上有相似之处，但它们发展了截然不同的军民关系，极大地影响了他们的过渡。在将权力移交给平民独裁者萨拉萨尔（Salazar）之后，葡萄牙军方最终导致其独裁者Estado Novo垮台政权并引导向民主过渡。相比之下，曾帮助佛朗哥击败第二共和国的西班牙军方仍然忠于独裁者的原则，在他去世后阻碍了民主化进程。该跨学科文章利用主要和次要来源，对比了军方所面临的挑战和伊比利亚政府实施的使其非政治化和控制的政策。它表明，这些国家的政变失败，有助于加强对平民的控制，为巩固民主铺平了道路。使用政策工具比较框架，本文证明，葡萄牙和西班牙不仅军事态度而且控制军队的工具也大不相同。西班牙内战的历史遗迹，