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The Spanish Civil War is one of the most studied events in modern European history. This book analyses the main obstacles to the consolidation of democracy in Spain and debates the principal stereotypes of the traditional historiography of both left and right.
This is the first full-length study in English of the role of Marxist theory in the Spanish Socialist movement prior to the outbreak of Civil War in 1936. In particular, the author stresses the intellectual poverty of this aspect of leftwing politics in Spain. In concentrating on the Partido Socialista Obrero Espafiol (PSOE), the major organised party of the left prior to the Civil War, the study seeks to achieve two main aims: first, to attempt to isolate the political, social and intellectual factors which led to a particularly distorted version of Marxism which became established in Spain at the end of the nineteenth century; and second, to demonstrate how this particular conception of Marxism had a crucial negative impact on the political formulations and fortunes of the PSOE between 1879 and 1936. The central argument of the book is that the significance of Spanish Marxism lay precisely in its poverty, since it was this 'decaffeinated' version of the theory which set the parameters within which the PSOE formulated its strategy for socialism.
This collection of essays constitutes a magnificent monument to recent scholarship on the Second Republic and the Civil War. It is indispensable for a full understanding of the period.' - Raymond Carr
A succinct and disturbing account of the role of the Spanish Right in the course of the twentieth century.
DIVDeals with central problem in modern Spanish history-- why did civil war break out in 1936-- arguing that cultural representations of earlier revolution helped trigger the war through focus on social tensions around religion and gender./div
The first multi-dimensional approach to the Front phenomenon of the 1930s.
Why did precarious and collapsed democracies in Europe develop into highly stable democracies? Gerard Alexander offers a rational choice theory of democratic consolidation in a survey of the breakdowns of and transitions to democratic institutions. Through an analysis of developments in Spain, Britain, France, Germany, and Italy, Alexander explores how key political sectors established the long-term commitment to democracy that distinguishes consolidated democracies. Alexander makes a highly accessible rationalist argument about the conditions under which such commitments emerge, arguing that powerful sectors abandon options for overthrowing democratic rules only when they predict low risks ...
A political biography, history of of a revolutionary era, and nonstop adventure story across three continents.
Setting aside the pastiche of bullfighters and flamenco dancers that has dominated the U.S. image of Spain for more than a century, this innovative volume uncovers the roots of Spanish studies to explain why the diversity, vitality, and complexity of Spanish history and culture have been reduced in U.S. accounts to the equivalent of a tourist brochure. Spurred by the complex colonial relations between the United States and Spain, the new field of Spanish studies offered a way for the young country to reflect a positive image of itself as a democracy, in contrast with perceived Spanish intolerance and closure. Spain in America investigates the political and historical forces behind this duali...
This classic text is made newly available in a substantially revised and updated second edition.