1. Introduction

There are few doubts that a democratic regime can be deeply affected by economic crisis. This was so with reference to the great economic crises of the twentieth century, but it is also for the real estate and fiscal crises of 2008. What are the political consequences of this Great Recession? Are they limited or profound and serious? And what are the mechanisms at work that help to explain those consequences? The introduction emphasizes the channels of expression (election, protest, interests) that are affected by the crisis and empirical scope of the research, that is, the democracies of South Europe (Greece, Italy, Portugal and Spain). In particular, specific attention will be given to the building of and the electoral success of new protest parties and to the relationships among the three channels of expression. Ultimately, the main question is how the economic crisis will affect the quality of our four democracies in terms of participation and competition.