The Return of Civil Society: The Emergence of Democratic Spain / Edition 1

by Víctor M. Pérez-Díaz

Overview

Víctor Pérez-Díaz examines the return of civil society in Spain. He covers the transition of Spain from a preindustrial economy, an authoritarian government, and a Roman Catholic-dominated culture to a modern state based on the interaction of economic and class interests, on a market society, on voluntary associations such as trade unions and political parties, and on a culture of moral autonomy and rationality.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780674766891
Publisher:	Harvard University Press
Publication date:	01/21/1998
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	372
Product dimensions:	6.06(w) x 9.25(h) x 0.90(d)

About the Author

Víctor Pérez-Díaz is Professor of Sociology at the Complutense University of Madrid.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments

The Emergence of Democratic Spain

The Return of Civil Society

The Church and Religion in Contemporary Spain:
An Institutional Metamorphosis

Region, Economy, and the Scale of Governance:
Mesogovernments in Spain

The Spanish Workers:
Between Radicalism and Moderation

Unions' Uncertainties and Workers' Ambivalence:
The Moral Dimension

Notes

Bibliography

Index

Editorial Reviews

A humane, subtle, and splendidly informative study of recent Spanish history, with important observations about the critical role of civil society in the political triumphs and failures of other countries. A greatly rewarding and rare example of the complementarity of sociological and historical interpretations of political change.

Foreign Affairs - Fritz Stern

A decade from now, when scholars evaluate whether the debate over civil society revised our conventional assumptions, I am confident that Pérez-Díaz’s book will be mentioned as having moved us closer to our goal.

Contemporary Sociology - Carlos A. Forment

The Return of Civil Society…is a book that can only be described as magisterial. It moves easily and successfully along the boundaries of history, political science, and sociology, presenting a carefully crafted argument about the democratization of Spain while reflecting intelligently and provocatively on many other subjects.

Eusebio Mujal-Leonn Political Science Review

The Return of Civil Society…is a book that can only be described as magisterial. It moves easily and successfully along the boundaries of history, political science, and sociology, presenting a carefully crafted argument about the democratization of Spain while reflecting intelligently and provocatively on many other subjects.

American Political Science Review - Eusebio Mujal-Leon

The Return of Civil Society...is a book that can only be described as magisterial. It moves easily and successfully along the boundaries of history, political science, and sociology, presenting a carefully crafted argument about the democratization of Spain while reflecting intelligently and provocatively on many other subjects.
— Eusebio Mujal-Leon

American Political Science Review

A decade from now, when scholars evaluate whether the debate over civil society revised our conventional assumptions, I am confident that Pérez-Díaz's book will be mentioned as having moved us closer to our goal.
— Carlos A. Forment

Contemporary Sociology

A humane, subtle, and splendidly informative study of recent Spanish history, with important observations about the critical role of civil society in the political triumphs and failures of other countries. A greatly rewarding and rare example of the complementarity of sociological and historical interpretations of political change.
— Fritz Stern

Foreign Affairs