The Politics and Memory of Democratic Transition: The Spanish Model

Abstract

Spain's political transition to democracy is often lauded as the benchmark by which many other countries explicitly declared to have measured their own democratic progress. 2008 marks the 30th Anniversary of the Spanish Constitution, and public interest in the democratization, transition, and comparative politics of this period is higher than ever before. Designed to evaluate the paradigmatic view of the Spanish transition as an ideal model for political and social change, this new and innovative volume appraises the movement towards a more democratic Spain from a variety of important perspectives including the selection of an electoral system, the role of the church, the effect of the European Community, the output of cultural products such as cinema and television, the Basque experience, and the 'Pact of Oblivion', an unwritten agreement not to prosecute those involved in abuses committed by the Francoist regime. By making comparisons to other democratic transitions, synthesizing the ideas of several leading Spanish History scholars, as well as incorporating new voices involved in creating the directions of research to come, "The Spanish Model" offers a thorough and vital look at this key period in contemporary Spanish history, taking stock of critical lessons to be gleaned from the Spanish Transition, and pointing the way toward its future as a democratic nation.