With a focus predominantly on the two governments of José Maria Aznar between 1996 and 2004, and the José Luis Zapatero government after 2004, this book provides an introduction for students of Spain's history and its contemporary politics.

Contemporary Spanish Politics gives fresh insight into the formal and informal workings of this dynamic southern European democracy. It thoroughly discusses the history, politics, institutions, parties, economy and foreign policy of Spain at an introductory level ideal for an undergraduate audience. Each chapter provides a research-based overview of the studied topic which can then be used as the basis for further research by students. The key themes of the book are: recent history of Spain after Franco's death the political culture of the country the institutional framework foreign policy including the reaction to the global anti-terrorist coalition the policy making process and the system of interest intermediation the party system and electoral process the dynamics of regional politics (emphasizing Catalan, Basque and Galician nationalism) the political economy the external relations of the country within and towards the European Union, the Mediterranean and Latin America.

The fiercer the competition to get into college the more schools require that students prove themselves in other ways than SAT scores and grade point averages. The more expensive college educations become, the more students take advantage of the opportunity to test-out of first year college courses. Includes; -2 sample tests with full explanations for all answers -The Princeton Review's proven score-raising skills and techniques -Complete subject review of all the material likely to show up on the AP Spanish exam

Bringing together the work of top specialists and emerging scholars in the field, this volume is the first book-length study of the rapport between liberalism and the Spanish monarchy over the long nineteenth century in any language. It is at once a general overview and a set of original contributions to knowledge. The essays discuss monarchy’s rapport with the pre-liberal, liberal and post-liberal nation-state, from the eve of the French Revolution, when the monarchy regulated a ‘natural’ order, to the unstable reign of Isabel II, fraught by revolutions that ended in her exile, to the brief republican monarchy of Amadeo I, the much-maligned foreign king, to Alfonso XIII’s expulsion from Spain following the failure of the dictatorship of Primo de Rivera. The essays approach the subject through two main thematic-analytical axes. The first, political axis examines the monarchy’s confrontation with, and adaptation to, liberalism as a political force that aimed to nationalize the Spanish people. The second axis is cultural, and studies the Crown’s support of liberalism’s nationalizing aims through various staging strategies that comprised visits, rituals, ceremonies, iconography, religiosity, and familial and military display. The dual approach invites the reader to question the boundaries between the political and the cultural, especially in regard to the ceremonial, and during critical times that witness the transformation of political power and the building of the nation-state. Designed for Hispanists and students of politics, ritual, liberalism and monarchy, this collection should appeal to academics and researchers as well as anyone interested in modern European history.

Religion and politics have historically clashed in modern Spain but the complexity of the controversial and sometimes violent relationships between Catholic values and modern political regimes continue to ride a precarious line of spiritual accommodation versus public policy. Leading experts on religious Spanish tradition and recent historiographic findings set out to define and interrogate grey areas in the last two centuries beyond the reductive conventional notion of an ever-warring "Two Spains." The Soul of the Nation unravels the role of religion in the country's public life following the imperial crisis of 1808 when the Catholic Monarchy put the role of the Church at heart of political and cultural debates.

Modern Spain: 1808 to the Present is a comprehensive overview of Spanish history from the Napoleonic era to the present day. Places a large emphasis on Spain's place within broader European and global history The chronological political narrative is enriched by separate chapters on long term economic, social and cultural developments This presentation of modern Spanish history incorporates the latest thinking on key issues of modernity, social movements, nationalism, democratization and democracy

First Published in 2004. Oliver Boyd-Barrett and Pamela O’Malley have brought together a collection of the best recently published and specially commissioned articles that chart the rapid and extensive process of education reform in Spain since 1970. The articles cover in detail all the key measures of reform and the relevant changes in legislation and government policy since the 1970 Ley General de Educación. They also set these changes within their historical context. The book shows that the process of reform in Spain has been characterized by both idealism and conflict and has been notable for its sheer pace. Topics covered include democratization and decentralization, curriculum reform, vocational and technical education, and the leading partners in education such as the Ministry of Education and Science, teacher unions and governors. This book is a significant contribution to the study of worldwide processes of education reform and will be of interest to comparative educationists, those who have a professional interest in education in Spain, and also anyone with a more general interest in modern Spain.

An appraisal of the turbulent development of the Spanish economy over the last fifty years and an evaluation of the current economic and social problems within an historical context.

Catholics and Political Violence in the Twentieth Century presents a historical reconstruction of the ways in which Catholics have justified the recourse to political violence during the twentieth century, a period marked by major wars, nationalisms, decolonization, ideological clashes, and episodes of genocide. Legitimation processes are particularly complex when this violence is not endorsed by the state, and perhaps used against it. Depending on perspective, the protagonists of this radical form of collective action may be seen as ‘terrorists’ or ‘freedom fighters’. Written by a leading historian of contemporary Catholicism, this book examines a series of case studies from different parts of the world, selected because of the central role played by the Catholic religion. They range from Northern Ireland to the Basque Country, from the Philippines to Colombia, and from Mexico to Rwanda. It highlights how theological sources, paradigms of martyrdom, and symbols of the Christian tradition have provided a catalogue of reasons to give moral value to violence and promote it in the name of God. By looking at the history of Catholicism in global terms and adopting a transnational perspective, Catholics and Political Violence in the Twentieth Century sheds a critical light on the themes that are crucial to understanding the relationship between religion and violence. It will appeal to scholars and students working and studying in the fields of Modern and Contemporary History, Religious Studies, Terrorism Studies, Cultural and Global Studies, Intellectual History, and the History of Political Thought.