Alejandro Lerroux and the Failure of Spanish Republican Democracy

Alejandro Lerroux and the Failure of Spanish Republican Democracy PDF Author: Roberto Villa Garcia
Publisher: Liverpool University Press
ISBN: 1800858485
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 280

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Book Description
Alejandro Lerroux (18641949) was one of the most polemical figures of early twentieth century Spanish politics. As leader of the Radical Republican Party and six-time prime minister between 1933 and 1935, his admirers saw him as a patriot determined to create a Republic for all citizens, while his critics denounced him as an opportunistic demagogue willing to sacrifice the Republic to its enemies. Like his French republican contemporary Georges Clemenceau, Lerrouxs long political journey took him from the fiery radical leftism of his youth to centrist consensual politics. Thus while Lerroux was the most significant advocate of a revolutionary break with Spains monarchical and authoritarian past before 1931, after the proclamation of the Second Republic he wished to build an inclusive and tolerant democracy. This book is the first scholarly biography in any language of this titan of modern Spanish politics. Nigel Townsons The Crisis of Democracy in Spain (2000) is the only book in English to discuss Lerrouxs career in any detail, but his study is restricted to the Second Republic. Utilising neglected primary material, Villa Garcia argues that Lerroux embodies the transition from the elitist liberal politics of the nineteenth century to the modern mass politics of the twentieth. Like the Second Republic itself, Lerrouxs political career ended in failure. The work is a timely reminder to students of modern Spain that the demise of Republican democracy was not inevitable. Nevertheless, after the abrupt end to Lerrouxs effort to sustain a broadly based moderate and democratic government, Spain would never again achieve stable and constitutional rule until 1977. The political defeat of Lerroux was a major turning point in the countrys history, a fateful step in the failure of democracy and the coming of civil war.

Alejandro Lerroux and the Failure of Spanish Republican Democracy

Alejandro Lerroux and the Failure of Spanish Republican Democracy PDF Author: Roberto Villa Garcia
Publisher: Liverpool University Press
ISBN: 1800858485
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 280

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Book Description
Alejandro Lerroux (18641949) was one of the most polemical figures of early twentieth century Spanish politics. As leader of the Radical Republican Party and six-time prime minister between 1933 and 1935, his admirers saw him as a patriot determined to create a Republic for all citizens, while his critics denounced him as an opportunistic demagogue willing to sacrifice the Republic to its enemies. Like his French republican contemporary Georges Clemenceau, Lerrouxs long political journey took him from the fiery radical leftism of his youth to centrist consensual politics. Thus while Lerroux was the most significant advocate of a revolutionary break with Spains monarchical and authoritarian past before 1931, after the proclamation of the Second Republic he wished to build an inclusive and tolerant democracy. This book is the first scholarly biography in any language of this titan of modern Spanish politics. Nigel Townsons The Crisis of Democracy in Spain (2000) is the only book in English to discuss Lerrouxs career in any detail, but his study is restricted to the Second Republic. Utilising neglected primary material, Villa Garcia argues that Lerroux embodies the transition from the elitist liberal politics of the nineteenth century to the modern mass politics of the twentieth. Like the Second Republic itself, Lerrouxs political career ended in failure. The work is a timely reminder to students of modern Spain that the demise of Republican democracy was not inevitable. Nevertheless, after the abrupt end to Lerrouxs effort to sustain a broadly based moderate and democratic government, Spain would never again achieve stable and constitutional rule until 1977. The political defeat of Lerroux was a major turning point in the countrys history, a fateful step in the failure of democracy and the coming of civil war.

The Crucible of Francoism

The Crucible of Francoism PDF Author: Ángel Alcalde
Publisher: Liverpool University Press
ISBN: 1782847049
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 268

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Book Description
The July 1936 coup d'tat against the Spanish Second Republic brought together a diversity of anti-Republican political and social groups under the leadership of rebel Africanista military officers. In the ensuing Civil War this coalition gradually came under the rule of Generalissimo Franco. This volume explores the hypothesis that the violence and combat experiences of the war were the fundamental ideological crucible for the Francoist regime. The rebels were a group of reactionary and anti-liberal forces with little ideological or political coherence, but they emerged from the conflict not only victorious but ideologically united under the dictator's power. Key to understanding this transition are the different political cultures of the rebel army, how the combatants' war experiences contributed to the transformation of diverse rebel groups, and the role of foreign armed intervention. The contributors examine not only the endogenous Spanish political and military cultures of the Francoist coalition, but also the transnational influence of foreign groups. The roots of Francoist political culture are found in the Falangist and Carlist militias, and Civil Guard units, that lent their support to the military rebellion. The war experiences of conscripts, colonial troops, and junior officers forged the Francoist ideology. It was reinforced by fascist influences and assistance from Germany and Italy, and the lesser-known contributions of Swiss and White Russian volunteers. At the beginning of the conflict the rebel side was not homogeneous. But it weaved together a complex, transnational web of political and military interests in the midst of a bloody and destructive war, transforming itself in the process to a political and dictatorial platform that was to rule Spain for many years.

Religious Landscapes in Contemporary Spain

Religious Landscapes in Contemporary Spain PDF Author: Ana I. Planet Contreras
Publisher: Liverpool University Press
ISBN: 1782847928
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 303

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Book Description
Spain is no longer exclusively identified with Catholicism. This book sets out to understand the social dynamics of twenty-first century Spain through the perspective of religion and religious pluralism. Divided into three parts, Part I, Secularization in Spain, frames the analysis of this secularization process throughout the twentieth century and beyond, with particular attention to the process during the Second Republic and the quiet secularization of society that began under Franco's regime. Part II, Religious Change in Spain, establishes the broad framework of the process, addressing the changes that have taken place within Catholicism and the reaction of the Protestant minority as social mores became increasingly fast moving. Part III, Islam in Spain, addresses both its history (including colonial management) and current dynamics (how Islam is viewed by other religions; the impact of the March 11, 2004, attacks; and Islamophobic discourse). Religious Landscapes in Contemporary Spain is essential reading for scholars and students in History and Contemporary Affairs.

Alcala Zamora and the Failure of the Spanish Republic, 1931-1936

Alcala Zamora and the Failure of the Spanish Republic, 1931-1936 PDF Author: Stanley G. Payne
Publisher: Liverpool University Press
ISBN: 178284399X
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 215

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Book Description
The Second Spanish Republic (1931-36) was the only new liberal democratic regime to emerge in Europe during the 1930s. Historians, however, have focused primarily on the Civil War of 1936-39 that followed, devoting much less attention to the parliamentary regime that preceded it. This book deals with the history and failure of the democratic polity in Spain through a detailed examination of the initiatives of its president, Niceto Alcala Zamora. As civil servant, lawyer, politician and writer, by 1931 he had become one of the most successful men of Spain. He played the leading role in the downfall of the monarchy and the inauguration of the Republic, which he served for eight months as initial prime minister and then as the first president. Stanley Payne's study argues that the failure of the Republic was not inevitable but depended on the policy choices of its president and the key party leaders. Alcala Zamora's professed goal was to center the Republic, stabilizing the new regime while avoiding extremes, but he failed altogether in this project. The Constitution of 1931 stipulated the double responsibility of parliamentary government both to the president and to a voting majority. Though Alcala Zamora resisted strong efforts from the left to cancel the results of the first fully democratic elections in 1933, he subsequently used his powers recklessly, making and unmaking governments at will, refusing to permit normal functioning of parliament. This first critical scholarly account of the presidency of Alcala Zamora casts new light on the failure of democracy in interwar Europe and on the origins of the Spanish Civil War.

Reclaiming al-Andalus

Reclaiming al-Andalus PDF Author: Pablo Bornstein
Publisher: Liverpool University Press
ISBN: 1782847146
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 246

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Book Description
Reclaiming al-Andalus focuses on the construction of the scholarly discipline of Orientalist studies in Spain. Special attention is paid to the impact that the elaboration of a series of historical interpretations of the legacy left by Muslim and Jewish culture in Spain had over the writing of national history in the period of the Bourbon Restoration. A historiographical account of Spains Orientalism tackles the problematized issues that both Arabist and Hebraist scholars sought to address. Orientalist scholarship thereby became inextricably linked to different interpretations of the historical shaping of Spanish national identity. Political circumstances of the day impacted on the approach these scholars took as they engaged with the Iberian Semitic past. And this at a critical moment in the crystallization of modern Spanish nationalism. A common thread running through the work of these Orientalist scholars was the tendency to nationalize or Hispanicize cultural activity of the Semitic populations that lived on the Iberian Peninsula in medieval times. This Hispanizication was instrumentalized in diverse ways in order to serve nation-building efforts. Hence Orientalist scholarship became integrated into the national debates that were shaping Spanish cultural and political life at the turn of the century. Reclaiming al-Andalus explains how regenerationist projects taking form after the national crisis of 1898, and different polemical discussions around religion-state affairs, deeply influenced the writings of academic Orientalism. The intertwined connection between Orientalist scholarship and nationalist debates in Spain has hitherto been understudied. This book not only contributes to the general debate on modern Orientalism, but most importantly presents a profound new viewpoint to the ongoing debate on the conflictive history of Spanish nationalism.

Democracy and Sovereignty in Spain

Democracy and Sovereignty in Spain PDF Author: Francisco J. Bellido
Publisher: Taylor & Francis
ISBN: 1000846679
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 169

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Book Description
This book delves into the conceptual changes produced by the Spanish constitutional debate held between 27 August and 9 December 1931. Taking place at the beginning of Spain’s Second Republic, those parliamentary deliberations brought about significant novelties in the political vocabulary. Concepts such as democracy, sovereignty, reform, revolution, and freedom, among others, were re-signified. This study investigates the conceptual contributions made by Spanish MPs in the course of the constitutional debate of 1931 by assuming, as a research approach, an interdisciplinary stance combining conceptual history, political theory, and parliamentary constitutional history. By doing so, it selects five determining issues: the pervasive discussion about two competing meanings of a democratic state; the rhetorical uses of reform and revolution; conceptual controversies about religious freedom; the disputed idea of property rights; and the functions of parliament and the president of the republic in a semi-presidential regime. The constitutional debate was largely inspired by interwar European constitutionalism which constituent representatives used to update the Spanish constitutional tradition. With that goal in mind, this book is aimed at undergraduate and graduate students and scholars working in the fields of conceptual history, political philosophy, parliamentary history, European political history, and European constitutionalism. Licence line: The Open Access version of this book, available at www.taylorfrancis.com, has been made available under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives 4.0 license.

The Penguin History of Modern Spain

The Penguin History of Modern Spain PDF Author: Nigel Townson
Publisher: Penguin UK
ISBN: 0141984228
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 416

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Book Description
‘The best account in a single volume of Spain since 1898, exemplary for concision and for accuracy in the use of language, as well as for equanimity and generosity of spirit’ Felipe Fernández-Armesto, TLS A revelatory new history of Spain, from the late nineteenth century to the twenty-first 'Spain is different,' proclaimed the Franco regime in the 1940s, keen to attract foreign tourists. For the most part, the world has agreed. From the end of its 'glorious empire' in 1898 to the dazzling World Cup victory in 2010, the prevailing narrative of modern Spain has emphasized the country's peculiarity. Generations of historians and readers have been transfixed by its implosion into civil war in the 1930s, seduced by the valiant struggle of the republicans, horrified by the barbarity of the dictatorship which followed. Franco's Spain was seen as an anomaly in the midst of prosperous and permissive post-war Western Europe. But, as Nigel Townson shows in this richly layered and exciting new history, beyond the familiar image, there lies a radically different history of Spain: of a dynamic and progressive society that fits firmly into the narrative of modern Europe. Drawing on over forty years of post-Franco scholarship, The Penguin History of Modern Spain transforms our knowledge of Spain and its politics, society, economics and culture. It interweaves cutting-edge Spanish-led research - never before published in English - and testimonies of peasants, housewives, soldiers, workers, entrepreneurs, feminists and worker-priests, for an original and surprising portrait, which allows us, at last, to discern the country behind the veil of propaganda and romantic myths which still endure today

The Spanish Republic at War 1936-1939

The Spanish Republic at War 1936-1939 PDF Author: Helen Graham
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 9780521459327
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 508

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Book Description
This book is a comprehensive 2002 analysis of the Spanish left during the civil war of 1936-9.

Marxism and the Failure of Organised Socialism in Spain, 1879-1936

Marxism and the Failure of Organised Socialism in Spain, 1879-1936 PDF Author: Paul Heywood
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 9780521530569
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 288

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Book Description
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.

Why Democracy Failed

Why Democracy Failed PDF Author: James Simpson
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 1108487483
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 319

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Book Description
Reveals how political change and economic development led to the collapse of democracy and the origins of the Spanish Civil War.