Spain's 'Second Transition'? The Socialist Government of Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero

Few would have imagined the developments that occurred under Spanish Prime Minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero between 2004 and 2008. Under Zapatero, Spain rapidly withdrew Spanish troops from Iraq, held a very public political debate on the Spanish Civil War and the Franco dictatorship, passed very progressive social legislation that included gay marriage and adoption as well as a sweeping gender equality act, and expanded autonomy in six of Spain’s 17 regions. The edited volume evaluates the degree to which developments during the first Zapatero government amount to a second transition that alters or revisits policies, institutional arrangements and political strategies that were established during Spain’s transition to democracy in the mid-1970s. Edited by Bonnie N. Field, the book includes chapters on domestic and foreign policy developments; party politics; unions and immigration; territorial politics; and the legislative dynamics of the minority government. The contributors include Omar G. Encarnación, Sebastián Royo, Diego Muro, Andrew Richards, Kerman Calvo, Irene Martín, Carlos Closa, Charles Powell and Bonnie N. Field.