Francisco Franco ruled Spain dictatorially until his death in 1975. As soon as he was dead, the so-called Transición, Spain's peaceful transition to democracy, began with remarkable speed. In the seminar, we first examine the preconditions for this rapid change: how had society already changed before 1975, what preparations had been made for the time after Franco? We will also look at different actors (politicians of different currents, the king, journalists, industrialists) and the processes that took place between 1975 and 1982, when the Socialists won the democratic parliamentary elections for the first time and the change of government was accomplished. The focus is on the social tensions that became visible during the transición, e.g., in issues of religion, schooling, regional autonomy, memory culture, or tax legislation. How could these be bridged - at least temporarily?

Knowledge of Spanish is not required, but a willingness to read English texts intensively is. Depending on the number of participants and current infectious events, the course will be held partly in digital format.

If the course is assigned to the module Political History I, the course credit consists of regular active participation as well as an oral presentation with handout (in digital format, depending on the situation). You have the option of writing a term paper (approx. 15 pages) as a module final exam. If the course is assigned to the module Political History II , the course achievement consists, in addition to regular active participation, of the written preparation and leading of a seminar session based on a given text with corresponding post-reflection. You have the possibility to take an oral exam on topics of the course as a module final exam.

Bernecker, Walther L.: History of Spain in the 20th Century, Munich 2017.

Capdepón, Ulrike: Spain's Transition to Democracy and Western Integration. From the Failure to Deal with Franco's Dictatorship to the Turning Away from the Transition Consensus, in: Jörg Ganzenmüller (ed.): Europas vergessene Diktaturen? Diktatur und Diktaturüberwindung in Spanien, Portugal und Griechenland, Vienna et al. 2018, pp. 113-130.