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This book, written by three of the world’s leading experts on Spanish politics, is the first comprehensive study of the origins and basic character of Spain’s democratic political system.It analyzes the regime’s core political institutions, its political parties and party systems, patterns of electoral behavior, the evolution of Spain’s political culture, and the impact of these social and institutional changes on public policy processes and outputs.

The authors survey those aspects of Spanish society and politics that had contributed to the country’s inability to sustain a stable and democratic regime prior to the 1970s.They argue that the successful transition to and consolidation of democracy was made possible by socioeconomic modernization, cultural change, and by decisions made by political elites in the establishment of core democratic institutions and the conduct of electoral competition.This book is based on over 500 hours of interviews with Spanish political elites, extensive analyses of survey data, and other original research.

“The book will be a widely read and much-cited work on Spanish politics that will become a classic and a ‘must-read’ for anyone interested in Spanish politics.”—Kerstin Hamann, University of Central Florida

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This comprehensive survey of Spain’s history looks at the major political, social, and economic changes that took place from the end of the Civil War to the beginning of the twenty-first century.

• A thorough introduction to post-Civil War Spain, from its development under Franco and subsequent transition to democracy up to the present day
  
• Tusell was a celebrated public figure and historian. During his lifetime he negotiated the return to Spain of Picasso’s Guernica, was elected UCD councillor for Madrid, and became a respected media commentator before his untimely death in 2005
  
• Includes a biography and political assessment of Francisco Franco
  
• Covers a number of pertinent topics, including fascism, isolationism, political opposition, economic development, decolonization, terrorism, foreign policy, and democracy
  
• Provides a context for understanding the continuing tensions between democracy and terrorism, including the effects of the 2004 Madrid Bombings

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Publisher: Harper ... Read more

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This scarce antiquarian book is included in our special Legacy Reprint Series. In the interest of creating a more extensive selection of rare historical book reprints, we have chosen to reproduce this title even though it may possibly have occasional imperfections such as missing and blurred pages, missing text, poor pictures, markings, dark backgrounds and other reproduction issues beyond our control. Because this work is culturally important, we have made it available as a part of our commitment to protecting, preserving and promoting the world's literature. ... Read more

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While Spain is now a well-established democracy closely integrated into the European Union, it has suffered from a number of severe internal problems such as corruption, discord between state and regional nationalism, and separatist terrorism.

The Politics of Contemporary Spain charts the trajectory of Spanish politics from the transition to democracy through to the present day, including the aftermath of the Madrid bombings of March 2004 and the elections that followed three days later. It offers new insights on the main political parties and the political system, on the monarchy, corruption, terrorism, regional and conservative nationalism, and on Spain's policies in the Mediterranean and the EU. It challenges many existing assumptions about politics in Spain, reaching beyond systems and practices to look at identities, political cultures and mentalities. It brings to bear on the analysis the latest empirical data and theoretical perspectives.

Providing a detailed political analysis in an historical context, this book will be of vital importance to students and researchers of Spanish studies and politics. ... Read more

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Excellent book to understand contemporary Spain
The book covers the last three decades of Spanish history and provides a critical introduction to the politics and government of Spain.

Written from a moderate-left viewpoint, this book is for those who already have an interest in the subject and who want to use it as a very up to date toolbox for the study of Spain.
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Good book on an understudied area
Given the amount of aid Germany and Italy gave the Spanish Nationalists in the Spanish Civil War, it is somewhat surprising that Spain didn't enter the war on the Axis side.They didn't, and this book goes a long ways toward explaining why.The Spanish economy was devastated by the Spanish Civil War.It was dependent on the world economy for oil and food.Remnants of the Spanish Empire, such as the Canary Islands and Spanish Sahara were vulnerable to British attacks if Spain sided with Germany and Italy.

At the same time, the Spanish nationalists were tempted by potential spoils such as Gibraltar, and possibly French Morocco.If the Germans had tried hard enough in the immediate aftermath of the fall of France, the Spanish might have considered joining the Axis.The Germans weren't interested in Mediterranean adventures at that time though, and by the time they became interested the Spanish had had time for second thoughts.

This book does a good job of looking at Spanish foreign policy during World War II, but it also looks at the Spanish economy and Spanish society in some depth.A good read.

As one war ended, another war began
This book is a fascinating look at Spanish politics and culture during World War II.It covers all aspects of Spanish history, from Franco's meetings with Hitler to bullfighters losing their lives in the arena.I've always found European history interesting, but until a few years ago I had never read anything about Spain, and had no idea what an interesting part it played during this time

1939 was the year that World War II began.But in Spain, this was the year that war ended.The Spanish Civil War devastated the nation from 1936 to 1939, and thus while most of Europe was going to war, Spain was rebuilding from a war.

Wayne Bowen's new book, "Spain During World War II", describes how Spain attempted to rebuild itself under the dictatorship of Francisco Franco.Dissent on the "Left" was forbidden:communist, socialist, and democratic views were suppressed by the Franco regime.But plenty of dissent on the "Right" existed.This book narrates the history of some of the major dissenters and shows that their power was quite significant.

One example of successful dissent came from Cardinal Segura and Cardinal Goma, leaders of the Catholic Church in Spain.They supported Franco but condemned Nazi Germany - because, while they didn't mind dictatorship, the pagan elements in Nazism filled them with horror.These church leaders managed to prevent a "cultural exchange" accord that would have exposed Spanish youth to Nazi culture.

At the other extreme was Pilar Primo de Rivera.She was the leader of the Women's Section of the Falange, and was enthusiastically pro-Nazi.In May 1941, concerned that Franco was appointing too many monarchists and too few Falangists to his cabinet, she led a protest against Franco's policies.Her popularity was too great for Franco to eliminate her, and he backed down and appointed more Falangists to his cabinet.Pilar Primo de Rivera continued to lobby for Spain to enter the war on Hitler's side, and to promote the Nazi cause within Spain.

Meanwhile, the majority of Spaniards during this time were not concerned with politics:they were concerned with jobs, the economy, and sports.Soccer ("football" in Europe) and bullfighting - the two great Spanish sports - were promoted by the Franco regime as a safe alternative to politics.But even here, the regime found that the Spanish people could not be controlled, as regional rivalries led to violence between the fans at football matches.

This book is a fascinating look at how Spain managed to rebuild from its war - at the same time that the rest of Europe was being devasted by the greatest war in history. ... Read more

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"The last word on Spanish fascism and the model study of fascism anywhere."-Robert Kern, coeditor of The Historical Dictionary of Modern Spain

"The definitive history of Spanish fascism from its birth to its death, incorporating all the available sources. No one is more qualified than Stanley Payne to write this book."-Juan J. Linz, coauthor of Problems of Democratic Transition and Consolidation

Fascism in Spain, 1923-1977, by celebrated historian Stanley G. Payne, is the most comprehensive history of Spanish fascism to appear in any language. This authoritative study offers treatment of all the major doctrines, personalities, and defining features of the Spanish fascist movement, from its beginnings until the death of General Francisco Franco in 1977.

Payne describes and analyzes the development of the Falangist party both prior to and during the Spanish Civil War, presenting a detailed analysis of its transformation into the state party of the Franco regime-Falange Espaola Tradicionalista-as well as its ultimate conversion into the pseudofascist Movimiento Nacional. Payne devotes particular attention to the crucial years 1939-1942, when the Falangists endeavored to expand their influence and convert the Franco regime into a fully Fascist system. Fascism in Spain helps us to understand the personality of Franco, the way in which he handled conflict within the regime, and the reasons for the long survival of his rule. Payne concludes with the first full inquiry into the process of "defascistization," which began with the fall of Mussolini in 1943 and extended through the Franco regime's later efforts to transform the party into a more viable political entity. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Not for beginners
As a newcomer to Spanish history in general and Franco's regime in particular (prior to this, the only book I had read about the Spanish Civil War was Orwell's Homage to Catalonia), I frequently became exasperated with Payne's detailed history of the fascist movement in Spain.It is overwhelmingly a political history, devoting most of its pages to the gradual construction of a recognizably fascist party under Jose Antonio Primo de Rivera, and then, after Franco's triumph in the Civil War, the appointment of political officers of various ideological stripes.Payne sticks very closely to his subject and rarely places it within a larger historical context, which will make it difficult for readers who don't already possess a basic understanding of the Civil War and the Franco regime.Nonetheless, Payne's writing is incisive, well documented, and even fascinating if you happen to share his exclusive interest in the evolution of a political party that, by his own conclusion, played a secondary, dependent role in Spanish history.The last ten or so pages of the conclusion would almost be sufficient for the general reader who doesn't have the time to wade through Payne's exhaustive (and sometimes exhausting) detail.

Good thorough introduction into Spanish Fascism
So THIS is why Franco was able to rule for 39 years! Payne has done a fantastic job of explaining how Primo de Rivera could come to power, fall, then nine years later Franco could become Spain's "Caudillo". Payne's detailed account makes one feel as though they have experienced what it was like in Spain from the beginning of Primo de Rivera's dictatorship to the restoration of democratic institutions in 1977. Overall, a good read.

Error in review
I have not read this book yet, but I intend to buy it soon. I have to call attention to an error in the online book review -- Francisco Franco died Nov, 20, 1975, not in 1977. Spain's first free elctions in decades wereheld June 15, 1977. ... Read more

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Unravelling the debate about the Spanish nation and its identity in the new democracy, this book looks at the issue as both a historical debate and a contemporary political problem, particularly complex due to the legacy of the Francoist Dictatorship which deeply eroded the legitimacy of Spanish nationalism. During and since the transition Spanish nationalist discourse has evolved to meet the challenge of new concepts of nation and identity. These formulations argue very different configurations of the relationship between nation and state. While the Constitution of 1978 defines Spain as a nation of nationalities, many politicians and intellectuals now claim that Spain is a nation of nations, others that it is a nation of nations and regions, or a post-traditional nation state, or post-national state. For the peripheral nationalists, it is merely a state of nations and regions. What is at issue is not whether Spain exists or not as a nation; rather, it is the traditional ways of seeing Spain from both the centre and the periphery that are being challenged.

The Reinvention of Spainexamines the ways in which Spanish and regional identities are projected and how influence the external actions of the Spanish state. It also analyses the dynamic of comparative grievance and competition between regions deriving from the peculiar architecture of the state in Spain, and their effect on social and political cohesion. Finally, it examines scenarios of change that might foster solutions but asserts that Spain will continue to reinvent itself. ... Read more

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Utilizing hundreds of confidential documents from authorities in the Franco government, Fear and Progress: Ordinary Lives in Franco's Spain, 1939-1975 recounts the experiences of Spanish citizens who lived during the 40-year Franco dictatorship.

• Rejects traditional explanations of the length of Franco's power and the dictator's legacy
• Utilizes hundreds of confidential documents from authorities in the Franco government
• Provides insights into life during the Franco era: how political violence and repression were experienced; how the dictatorship exploited illusions of peace and prosperity for its own benefit; and how the regime's legacy was manipulated
• Reveals the Franco government's social callousness and manipulation of events

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This reference book discusses the history of politics and the military in Spain. ... Read more

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Oliver Boyd-Barrett and Pam O'Malley have brought together a collection of the best recently published and specially commissioned articles which chart the rapid and extensive process of education reform in Spain over the last two decades. The book shows that throughout, the process of reform in Spain has been characterized by both idealism and determination, and has been notable for its sheer pace. ... Read more

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The focus of this collection of articles by Donald J. Kagay is the effect of the expansion of royal government on the societies of the medieval Crown of Aragon. He shows how the extensive episodes of warfare during the 13th and 14th centuries served as a catalyst for the extension of the king's law and government across the varied topography and political landscape of eastern Spain. In the long conflicts against Spanish Islam and neighbouring Christian states, the relationships of royal to customary law, of monarchical to aristocratic power, and of Christian to Jewish and Muslim populations, all became issues that marked the transition of the medieval Crown of Aragon to the early modern states of Catalonia, Aragon and Valencia, and finally to the modern Spanish nation. ... Read more

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This book constitutes the refereed proceedings of the Third International Conference on Electronic Government, EGOV 2004, held in Zaragoza, Spain in August/September 2004.