Is Spain Different?: A Comparative Look at the 19th and 20th Centuries

Spain is different, but this book offers a fresh and stimulating perspective on Spain's recent past that is of interest to students of Spanish and European history.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 256 pages
Publication date: 01 October 2023
Publisher: Liverpool University Press

The famous slogan "Spain is different" that propelled the tourism industry in Spain during the 1960s has now come to haunt historians. Since then, there has been an ongoing effort to prove that Spain is not exceptional but rather ordinary. However, many of the defining characteristics of Spain's past, such as the civil wars, weak liberalism, and Franco dictatorship, are often seen as evidence of its distinctiveness. A related issue is that few historians have adequately placed Spain's trajectory over the past two centuries in a truly comparative context.

This book aims to address this gap by exploring a range of key themes in modern Spanish history, including liberalism, nationalism, anticlericalism, the Second Republic, the Franco dictatorship, and the transition to democracy. By doing so, "Is Spain Different?" offers a fresh and stimulating perspective on Spain's recent past that is of interest to students of Spanish and European history alike. Moreover, it sheds new light on the ongoing political debates regarding Spain's place in the world.

Contributors to this volume include renowned scholars such as José Álvarez Junco (Universidad Complutense, Madrid), María Cruz Romeo (University of Valencia), Edward Malefakis (Columbia University, New York), and Pamela Radcliff (University of California, San Diego). Their insights and perspectives provide valuable contributions to our understanding of Spain's complex and fascinating history.

Weight: 330g
Dimension: 157 x 234 x 15 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781837644056