Spain: the trials and triumphs of a modern European nation
go through Michael Reed
Yale University Press, 2023
Michael Reid’s book begins with this quote from 19th Century British travel writer Richard Ford: “Nothing is more painful to Spaniards than to see foreigners writing book after book about themselves and their country…” This is Where Reed left it, but Ford continued: “…they gave it but a quick glance—half the subject, the half of which they were most ashamed, and considered least worthy of attention.”
Spain’s international image has not benefited from subtle changes in the course of history. Stanley Payne roughly summarized the typical labels that foreigners applied to Spain: cruel, bloodthirsty, sadistic and destructive in the 16th century.th century and the first half of the 17th centuryth century; the second half of the 17th century was militarily weak, ignorant, lazy, and low in productivityth century and 18th centuryth century; culturally picturesque and romantic, but of little relevance to 19th-century politicsth century; and 20+ combinations of everythingth century(Spain: a unique history2011, p. 5).
Beyond the sun, beaches and cold beers on the terraces, the international media is still awash with stereotypes about Spanish arrogance and a penchant for fighting with Goya-style sticks. As a fun exercise, I asked readers to find a New York Times article about Spain that did not connect current news to the Civil War (1936-39) and the Franco dictatorship (1939-75) . Thankfully, international coverage of Spain has become more sophisticated in recent years, and some very good books are being written by skilled vivisectionists on Spanish politics. Reed’s book is one of them. Reed offers an outsider’s unique perspective on Spain. He lives in Madrid and knows the country very well. He has held various positions, including as Spain correspondent for The Economist from 2016 to 2021.
The book covers a wide range of key themes for understanding Spanish politics over the past forty years: the constitutional arrangements of the 1970s, the tensions between center and periphery involving mainly the Basque Country and Catalonia, the rise and fall of the monarchy, the Franconian historical memories of Colombian rule, gender equality, the horrors of Eta, the ordeal of the 2008 financial crisis and subsequent austerity policies, anger movements of the past decade, and the last rise of the far right. Reed described the period from 1975 to 2000 as a “golden age” in Spanish history. In contrast, over the past two decades, "shadow" [have] Almost covering the sun” (p. 12).
It seems to me that Reed idealized the transformation of the 1970s and subsequent decades—a trend that, frankly, is not uncommon among baby boomers whose middle age coincides with that period. Not only was this the period when ETA committed most of its crimes, it was also the period when the Spanish government supported terrorism against suspected ETA members on both sides of the Franco-Spanish border (1983-87). This was also a time when opportunities were missed to develop a strong welfare state and well-resourced public housing, a subject I devote half a chapter to in my book. Furthermore, the last quarter of the 20th centuryth The twentieth century saw rampant corruption and political incompetence in central government and many regions, a central theme of Paul Preston’s work betrayed people (2020). Although the Spanish economy is relatively booming, it is built on two pillars: tourism and housing development, both of which have proven to be economically and environmentally unsustainable.
The Spaniards overcame great difficulties in the 1970s. The transition to democracy may not be fair or just, but it works. The 1978 constitution and the transition to democracy, despite their limitations, were two of the best things to happen to Spain in the 20th century.th century. But we are at 21Yingshi century now. The obstacles to democracy in the 1970s were political and man-made. Those who put up obstacles, those who led the dictatorship and defended it after the fact, were never held accountable. While it may have worked, Spain’s transformation has been anything but exemplary, and complacency would be best avoided.
Reed is critical of Catalan and Basque nationalism and pro-independence sentiment. He applies Hobsbawm’s (1983) concept of “traditional invention” to Catalonia (2023, p. 61). Yet Spain seems to be taken for granted, as if it is somehow an immutable reality. Actually, all States are invented, or socially constructed, if you like. They are “imagined communities” (Anderson, 1983), which include Spain, as well as the idea of the Basque Country and Catalonia as nations. As Hobsbawm himself wrote in ” Nations and Nationalism since 1780“Nationalism takes precedence over the state; the nation does not create the state and nationalism, and vice versa” (1992, p. 10).
Last April, two Basque nationalist parties (PNV-EAJ and EH Bildu) achieved their best results in history – a combined two-thirds of the vote – despite making almost no mention of self-determination and self-determination in the campaign independent. The following month saw Spain’s center-left parties (PSC-PSOE) as well as right-wing and far-right parties (PP and Vox) achieve their best results in years, while nationalist parties (Junts, ERC and CUP) were crushed. collapsed.
The national question is a recurring theme in Spanish politics. It comes and goes like the Guadiana River in Andalusia (I admit, only Spaniards or people very familiar with the country can understand this statement). Spanish politics since around 2010 has been a reminder that the 1978 constitution’s territorial adjustments were an upper limit for some regions (the central region) but a lower limit for others (particularly but not exclusively Catalonia Romania and the Basque Country). This is a prominent political issue, affecting national identity, as well as less symbolic but more practical issues related to fiscal policy, resource allocation and public investment. This is a political issue and will not be solve, in the sense that it never ends, because it is part of what makes Spain unique. This is a problem that can only be solved─or “brought about”, “significanceAs Ortega said.
Disagreement and uncertainty about the number of Spanish states – one, three or more? Disagreement can actually be turned into a source of strength, uncertainty into diversity, and that’s something to be proud of. In a democratic society, disagreement is not the problem; The question is how society and its leaders deal with these issues.
Reed writes, “Spain is like a mirror, an often distorted mirror onto which observers project their own visions and fantasies” (2023, p. 3). This is indeed the essence Esperantoa literary style that emerged in the early 1920sth century. exist bohemian lampA drama from the 1920s, Ramón del Valle-Inclán made Max Estrella reflect with his last breath: “The tragic sense of Spanish life can only be expressed through the aesthetics of a systematic deformation… Spain It is a grotesque deformation of European civilization… The most beautiful images in a concave mirror are absurd. Let us love the reflection in front of the concave mirror, because when you hold up the concave mirror to the idol, the deformed image you see is their reality. nature.
Further reading on electronic international relations
