Dilemmas of Social Democracy: The Spanish Socialist Workers Party in the 1980s

(Hardback)

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This incisive volume examines the rise to power of the Spanish Socialist Workers Party and the dilemmas it faced once in power. Unlike any other work in print, it deals with the Spanish Socialist Party exclusively and focuses on some of the problems facing all socialist parties in advanced capitalist democracies. Share's introduction discusses the combined crises of advanced capitalism and social democracy and provides an informative overview of the complex dilemmas facing sound democratic future in the 1980s. Dilemmas of Social Democracy examines in depth how the economic, electoral, ideological, and internal organizational crises have compounded each other, how the European social democratic parties have responded to those crises, and focuses extensively on Spain in the 1980s. This important work investigates the historical emergence of socialism in Spain, the transition to democracy, the reemergence of the Spanish Socialist Workers Party, the ideological crisis, and the socialist experience in government. There are chapters explaining the Socialists' behavior in government and evaluating the past and prospects for the future. A selected bibliography is included. This exhaustive study will be of great importance to scholars of socialism and social democracy, political science, and Spanish government, and will be read with interest by those engaged in graduate programs in comparative European politics and political economy.

Reviews

Despite the critical role of the Socialist Workers party in shaping Spain's remarkable transformations in recent years, virtually no specialized studies of this political party are currently available in English. Hence the importance of this concise and readable book. Share, who has written extensively on contemporary Spanish politics (e.g., The Making of Spanish Democracy, CH, Nov '86), displays a keen understanding of the complex workings of the Spanish political process. In addition to analyzing the evolution of the Socialist Workers party, the author presents an excellent overview of the historical role of socialism in Spain and of the rapidly changing political and socioeconomic context which has dramatically affected the party's ideology. In essence, the recent ideological evolution of the Socialist Workers party--from Marxism to neoliberalism--and its behavior in Government provide a mirror for the sociopolitical changes of Spanish society in the 1980s. The title notwithstanding, this book contains an excellent synthesis of post-Franco Spain, although Share focuses his analysis on intraparty debates, policy formulations, and the electoral process from the perspective of the Socialist Workers party. Clear and thoughtful footnotes and an extensive bibliography of English and Spanish sources add to the usefulness of this book as a valuable addition to any college library and a solid research took for advanced students.-Choice
"Despite the critical role of the Socialist Workers party in shaping Spain's remarkable transformations in recent years, virtually no specialized studies of this political party are currently available in English. Hence the importance of this concise and readable book. Share, who has written extensively on contemporary Spanish politics (e.g., The Making of Spanish Democracy, CH, Nov '86), displays a keen understanding of the complex workings of the Spanish political process. In addition to analyzing the evolution of the Socialist Workers party, the author presents an excellent overview of the historical role of socialism in Spain and of the rapidly changing political and socioeconomic context which has dramatically affected the party's ideology. In essence, the recent ideological evolution of the Socialist Workers party--from Marxism to neoliberalism--and its behavior in Government provide a mirror for the sociopolitical changes of Spanish society in the 1980s. The title notwithstanding, this book contains an excellent synthesis of post-Franco Spain, although Share focuses his analysis on intraparty debates, policy formulations, and the electoral process from the perspective of the Socialist Workers party. Clear and thoughtful footnotes and an extensive bibliography of English and Spanish sources add to the usefulness of this book as a valuable addition to any college library and a solid research took for advanced students."-Choice

Author Bio

DONALD SHARE is Assistant Professor of Politics and Government at the University of Puget Sound, Washington. His earlier works include The Making of Spanish Democracy (Praeger, 1986), and articles published in Comparative Political Studies, The Review of Politics, and West European Politics.