Civil Society, Political Instituitions and Democratization in Spain
The first article talks about the civil society development in the democratization of Spain. The weakness of civil society has been a central issue for political expansion for many, many years. Very low levels of civic engagement in the post-Franco era have generated little enthusiasm for building a robust civil society. In fact, Argentina is the only other country to have a lower rate of participation in voluntary associations to represent the civil society in Spain. Even though democratic procedures have been solidly institutionalized in Spain, civic engagement (closeness to neighbors, membership in voluntary associations and conventional political participation) has stagnated significantly. For example, only about 1/3 of Spanish adults belong to any type of voluntary association.
The official awakening of Spanish civil society took place with the passage of the 1976 Law of Political Reform, the first step of dismantling Franco's dictatorship. This guaranteed the right of free association, which was closely followed by the labor movement of Spanish workers. This was the largest, strongest and best organized component of civil society as the nation underwent democratization. However, Spanish workers fled the unions created in 1977 just as soon as they joined them which reflected the aversion of Spaniards to participation in voluntary associations.
Some of the complications of civil society during the democracy consolidation was the uncivil movements that created violence and extremism hindered the democratic consolidation of Spain.
Several factors afflicting the development of civil society include lack of trust within the Spanish society, excessive individualism, high rates of unemployment, late entry of females into the workplace and a lukewarm attitude of the Catholic church toward mass mobilization. Yet, Spain had positive foundations for its democracy that included high levels of economic and social modernization attained at the time of Franco's death, emergent political culture that emphasized consensus, moderation and pragmatism, and finally the country's favorable geographic location provided closeness to the core of Western Europe.
The prevalence of social capital in the consolidation of democracy in Spain suggests the successful deployment of the policy "social concertation" which addressed the complexity of the transition between regimes.
The second article starts by introducing the key to Spain's advancing consolidation. Adolfo Suarez, prime minister winner of the general election of 1977 and part of the UCD (Union of the Democratic Center), was the nation's popular and respected politician and expected to lead the public toward a democracy. He used his popularity to advance policies that were highly beneficial to the consolidation of democracy, yet proved devasting to himself and his party.
The 1982 election is accepted as the year that democracy consolidated in Spain with the PSOE's victory. This party reigned until their defeat in 1996.
Spain's political institutions played a lead role in bringing a highly successful process of democratic consolidation. The social economic well-being engineered by the country to the transition provided the foundation for the rise of a mode of doing politics based on trust, reciprocity and cooperation. The political parties proved effective for socializing the general public and increasing political capacity of civil society organizations which is deepening the process of democratization in Spain.
Discussion Questions:
1. How could civil society in Spain be strengthened and why is this so important for the Spanish citizens?
2. What can Spaniards do to increase civic engagment throughout Spain?
3. How is social capital a significant factor in democracy consolidation?
The official awakening of Spanish civil society took place with the passage of the 1976 Law of Political Reform, the first step of dismantling Franco's dictatorship. This guaranteed the right of free association, which was closely followed by the labor movement of Spanish workers. This was the largest, strongest and best organized component of civil society as the nation underwent democratization. However, Spanish workers fled the unions created in 1977 just as soon as they joined them which reflected the aversion of Spaniards to participation in voluntary associations.
Some of the complications of civil society during the democracy consolidation was the uncivil movements that created violence and extremism hindered the democratic consolidation of Spain.
Several factors afflicting the development of civil society include lack of trust within the Spanish society, excessive individualism, high rates of unemployment, late entry of females into the workplace and a lukewarm attitude of the Catholic church toward mass mobilization. Yet, Spain had positive foundations for its democracy that included high levels of economic and social modernization attained at the time of Franco's death, emergent political culture that emphasized consensus, moderation and pragmatism, and finally the country's favorable geographic location provided closeness to the core of Western Europe.
The prevalence of social capital in the consolidation of democracy in Spain suggests the successful deployment of the policy "social concertation" which addressed the complexity of the transition between regimes.
The second article starts by introducing the key to Spain's advancing consolidation. Adolfo Suarez, prime minister winner of the general election of 1977 and part of the UCD (Union of the Democratic Center), was the nation's popular and respected politician and expected to lead the public toward a democracy. He used his popularity to advance policies that were highly beneficial to the consolidation of democracy, yet proved devasting to himself and his party.
The 1982 election is accepted as the year that democracy consolidated in Spain with the PSOE's victory. This party reigned until their defeat in 1996.
Spain's political institutions played a lead role in bringing a highly successful process of democratic consolidation. The social economic well-being engineered by the country to the transition provided the foundation for the rise of a mode of doing politics based on trust, reciprocity and cooperation. The political parties proved effective for socializing the general public and increasing political capacity of civil society organizations which is deepening the process of democratization in Spain.
Discussion Questions:
1. How could civil society in Spain be strengthened and why is this so important for the Spanish citizens?
2. What can Spaniards do to increase civic engagment throughout Spain?
3. How is social capital a significant factor in democracy consolidation?
posted by A.E.O. at 2:07 PM
1 Comments:
I was very curious about the lack of trust mentioned in the first article, so I did some research and found an article from the Harvard University Press that answered some questions. The article talks about the trials of Spanish democracy from the death of Franco to the present. The main focus is on generation that came of age in the 1960s, assumed political power, and formed the first Socialist government in 1982 with Felipe González as Prime Minister, which was returned to power in four consecutive elections. Starting in 1993, however, the government came under siege and respected officials were accused of authorizing the assassination of some twenty-eight Basque nationalists suspected of terrorism over the years, and of covering up these crimes. This scandal, along with other disclosures of corruption and serious law-breaking, shook the country's confidence in its legal and political institutions and in its ability to hold its leaders to the rule of law. If my country had bee through all of that in the past 50 years, I'm pretty sure I would have some trust issues too.
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