The slogan that launched the tourist industry in the 1960s, Spain is different, has come to haunt historians. Much effort and energy have been expended ever since in endeavouring to show that Spain has not been different, but normal. Still, many of the defining features of the country's past -- the civil wars, the weak liberalism, the Franco dictatorship -- are taken as evidence of its distinctiveness. A related problem is that few historians have actually placed Spain's trajectory over the last two centuries within a truly comparative context. This book does so by tackling a number of key themes in modern Spanish history: liberalism, nationalism, anticlericalism, the Second Republic, the Franco dictatorship and the transition to democracy. Is Spain Different? thereby offers a fresh and stimulating perspective on Spain's recent past that is not only of interest to students of Spanish and European history alike, but also sheds new light on the current political debates regarding Spain's place in the world. Contributors to this volume include: José Álvarez Junco (Universidad Complutense, Madrid); María Cruz Romeo (University of Valencia); Edward Malefakis (Columbia University, New York); and Pamela Radcliff (University of California, San Diego).

This book explores the role of popular forms of social mobilization during Spain's process of transition to democracy. It focuses on the nature of citizenship that was forged during the period of conflict and mobilisation that characterised Spain from the late 1950s until the late 1980s. It offers a two-pronged exploration of social movements at the time. On the one hand, it provides a detailed analysis of four very different cases of social mobilisation: among Catholics, residents, farmers and teachers. It discerns processes of organisation, repertoires of action, collective meaning, and interactions with communities and local political actors. On the other hand, it reflects on how the fight over specific issues and the use of similar tactics generated shared interpretations of what it meant to be a citizen in a democracy.