International dimensions of democratisation: revisiting the Spanish case

Summary:

This Working Paper seeks to shed new light on the international dimensions of Spain’s democratisation process (1975-86), a topic which first began to receive serious academic attention in the early 1990s. It applies some of the insights derived from the recent academic literature on democratisation to an analysis of the Spanish case, paying special attention to the external factors that impinged on the country’s socio-economic evolution in the years prior to the transition; the influence of the Roman Catholic Church; the multi-faceted European dimension, particularly the role of the European Communities (EC) and the major European democracies (above all, Germany); and the (relatively limited) impact of the United States (US) and NATO.

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