Contemporary Spanish Politics (in English)

Course Description
This class will introduce students to the important historical, political, social, and economic aspects of contemporary Spanish politics. Firstly, it will examine the legacy of the Franco regime and the transition to democracy after 1975. Secondly, it will focus on the new political, social, and economic institutions of the democratic regime. Lastly, it will immerse students in current situation in Spanish politics.

Course Goals and Methodology
The aim of this course is to introduce the students to the main debates surrounding the Spanish political system. During the 26 sessions of the course, different aspects of Spanish politics will be tackled.

Firstly, the course will question the historical roots of the current political system in Spain. Features like the Second Republic, the Civil War, Francoism, and the Transition to democracy will be analyzed in order to stress their relevance on current Spanish contemporary politics.

The second part of the course will deal with the different actors that structure Spanish politics. The role and structure of core institutions, political parties, social movements, lobbies, bureaucracy, mass media and political elites will be assessed.

Thirdly, the course will focus on the dynamics structuring the political system. Those dynamics include the processes of decentralization, Europeanization, internationalization. The rise of the Spanish welfare state, the state and nation building process, the new developments affecting the political culture, or the effects of the electoral system will be tackled.

Each session will be based on a fundamental question (e.g. Is Spain evolving towards federalism?). The professor will provide quantitative and qualitative data about that issue, and an open discussion will conclude each session. Different educational methods and techniques will be applied: debates, presentations, readings, videos, and an oratory contest will help students to get the basic knowledge about the Spanish political system.

Learning Objectives
By the end of the course, students will be able to:
1. Understand the recent developments in Spanish politics.
2. Debate about the current state of Spanish politics.
3. Make the distinction between the different concepts of political science (state, nation, power, institutions, social movements, pressure groups…).
Course contents

PART I. THE HISTORICAL ROOTS OF CONTEMPORARY SPAIN
PART II. CORE ACTORS OF THE SPANISH POLITICAL SYSTEM
PART III. STRUCTURAL DYNAMICS OF SPANISH POLITICS

Class Schedule
PART 1. INTRODUCTION TO IR THEORY
– Presentation of course/Introduction to Spain
– Second Republic and Civil War: Why did Democracy Fail?
– Francoism
– The Spanish Transition to Democracy: A miracle?
– The 80s and the 90s: The consolidation of democracy

PART II. CORE ACTORS OF THE SPANISH POLITICAL SYSTEM
– Crown, Parliament, Government and Judiciary. Who Governs?
– Parties and Party System: Who is who?
– The Electoral System and elections. 1979-2023 What’s new?
– Social Movements in Spain: Is Civil Society Organized?
– The Fourth Power? Mass Media in Spain and Political Elites
– Territorial Political System: Multilevel governance
– Spain and the EU
- Midterm Review and political campaign presentation
- MIDTERM EXAM

PART III. STRUCTURAL DYNAMICS OF SPANISH POLITICS
– Nationalism in Spain: General Overview
– Screening of Patria and discussion
– Nationalism in Spain: Catalonia
- Spanish Economy, a new hope?
- Spain, a sui generis Model of Welfare State: Healthcare, Education and unemployment benefits
– Presentation of manifestos/ party platforms
- Recent Developments in Social Policy: Social rights pioneers?
- Spanish Foreign Relations. US – Spain
- Electoral Debate
- Transparency and Quality of Democracy: Is Spain a Corrupt Country?
- Inaugural Debate
- What’s next? The future of Spanish politics