23Portugal is a country in South-Western Europe, located on the Iberian
Peninsula, bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the west and south and by
Spain to the north and east. Portugal also has sovereignty over the Atlantic
archipelagos of Azores and Madeira, which are not covered in the sample
(only mainland Portugal). In 1926, the short-lived and turbulent repub-
lican parliamentary regime was overthrown by the military. Between
1926 and 1974, Portugal was first ruled by a military junta (1926–1933)
and later under the Estado Novo (New State) regime, a totalitarian right-
wing dictatorship which shared many features with Mussolini’s fascist
regime. In 1974 a military-led coup ended almost 50 years of dictator-
ship, put an end to the colonial wars in Africa, and led to the dissolution
of the Portuguese Empire, prompting the return of hundreds of thou-
sands to mainland Portugal from the former Portuguese African territo-
ries. Within 2 years, a representative parliamentary democracy was
established. Portugal joined the European Economic Community (later
the European Union) in 1986.
Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked coun-
try located in Western Europe, which borders France, Italy, Germany,
Austria, and Liechtenstein. Switzerland is a federal directorial republic
consisting of 26 cantons. The political system combines elements of a
representative democracy and of a direct democracy, which allows either
cantons or groups of citizens to challenge laws passed by the parliament.
Historically, the Swiss state has been reluctant to join supranational
organisations, even though it is home to a number of them. For example,
although being surrounded by member states, Switzerland is not a mem-
ber of the European Union. Nevertheless, the Federal government has
signed numerous bilateral agreements with the European Union, in mat-
ters of trade, travel, and others.
The Republic of Lithuania lies on the eastern coast of the Baltic Sea
and borders the Russian Federation, Belarus, Latvia, and Poland. In
1918, Lithuania attained independence in the aftermath of the collapse
of the Russian Empire. In the middle of the twentieth century, the coun-
try was first annexed by the Soviet Union (in 1940), and later invaded
and occupied by Nazi Germany (1941). The period of 1940–1944 was
marked by repression and genocide, mainly of the Jews and the partisans.
After the defeat of Nazi troops in Eastern Europe, the Soviet Union again
Contextualising Personal Networks Across Birth Cohorts...