This course (entirely taught in English) will explore the links between changes in the socio-economic structures of modern Portugal and associated transformations in its political system. Prominent themes/topics we will examine from a comparative European perspective include: political institutions vs culture/behavior, Portuguese colonialism, the corporatist Estado Novo and European fascisms, the transition to and consolidation of democracy, and debates over what "Europeanization" means in the Southern European periphery post Eurozone crisis.  In the last part of the course, students will become familiar with some of the key issues relating to Portugal's ongoing struggle to define its place and role in the European Union.