<cite>Contesting Austerity</cite> compares the contentious responses to austerity in Portugal and Spain between 2008 and 2015. While in Spain a sustained wave of mobilisation lasted for three years and led to a transformation of the party system, in Portugal social movements mobilised only in specific instances, trade unions dominated protest and institutional change was limited. <cite>Contesting Austerity</cite> shows that trajectories and outcomes in these countries are linked to the nature and configurations of the players in the mobilisation process.