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Although Spain is an important member of the EU, relatively little is known about its economy and its interrelationship with political forces. This book, the first of its kind, offers a long-term view and analyzes this ever-changing relationship throughout the 20th century with its various upheavals such as the crisis of the democratic republic and the civil war in the 1930s, the long General Franco dictatorship from the 1940s until the 1970s and the subsequent transition to democracy. From the detailed studies of individual cases, specific companies as well as entrepreneurial organizations, a very diverse picture emerges, contradicting widespread simplistic interpretations of politico-economic linkages, which demonstrates both the pluralism of the economic interests as well as the complexity of their relationship to the political class.
List of contents
Introduction
Chapter 1. Capitalist Consolidation and the Crisis of Liberalism, 1914-1923
Catalans and Basques Defy Madrid
The Formation of a Capitalist Society
The Incompetence of an Interventionist State
Conflict and Separation from the Regime
The Coup d’État
2. The Era of State Intervention and Confrontation, 1923–1936
The Regulated Economy On Monopolies, Larcenies and Responsibilities
The ‘Sudden Socialisation’ of the Spanish Economy
Chapter 3. Paths of Servitude, 1936–1950
Revolt and Conspiracy
War and Revolution
A New State
Autarky and Industrial State
Chapter 4. Business in the ‘State of Public Works’, 1951–1977
The Accelerated Change of Spanish Companies
The Return of Class Struggle
Entrepreneurs on the Fringe of Power
Nepotism, Corruption and Planned Economy
The Collapse of the Regime and Anti-capitalist Culture
Chapter 5. The Powers of Democracy, 1977–2000
A Central Employers’ Organisation
Industrial Crisis and Reconversion
The Banking Transition
Scandals and the Media
The Powers of the New Economy
Bibliography
Index
About the author
Mercedes Cabrera is Professor of History at the Faculty of Political Science and Sociology, at the Universidad Complutense of Madrid, Spain. Her publications include a book on the organizations of Spanish entrepreneurs in the 1930s, La patronal ante la Segunda República 1931-1936 (1983), a biography of the Spanish entrepreneur Nicolás María de Urgoiti (1869-1951), La industria, la prensa y la política (1994), and the most recent, as coauthor, on the relationship between politics and economy in contemporary Spain (1875-2000): El poder de los empresarios (2002).
Fernando del Rey is Professor of History at the Faculty of Political Science and Sociology, Complutense University of Madrid, Spain. He has published a book on the organizations of Spanish entrepreneurs between 1914 and 1923, Propietarios y patronos (1992), and various articles on related subjects. He is coauthor of the book El poder de los empresarios. Política y economía en la España contemporánea (1875-2000), (2002).
Summary
Although Spain is an important member of the EU, relatively little is known about its economy and its interrelationship with political forces. This book analyzes its ever-changing relationship throughout the 20th century with its various upheavals, such as the crisis of the democratic republic and the civil war in the 1930s.
Additional text
“Truly an extraordinary contribution to the history of Spain.” • Juan J. Linz, Sterling Professor of Political and Social Sciences, Yale University
