This book examines three cases of democratic transitions by self-transformation of the non-democratic regimes in Southern Europe--the Spanish reforma pactada-ruptura pactada of 1976-77, the Greek "Markezinis experiment" of 1973, and the Turkish democratic transition of 1983--in a comparative perspective. The author argues that a democratic transition initiated by the regime elites is, in contrast to widely held assumptions and notwithstanding some reservations on whether democracy can be (re-)introduced by non-democrats, worth viewing as a "window of opportunity" for democratisation. It is up to the democratic counter-elites to respond to it, using the civil society and the international factor as allies to achieve their goal of acquiring more concessions from the regime.