The Collapse of the Spanish Republic

Resumen del libro

This book focuses on the short but crucial period that led to the collapse of the Spanish Republic and set the stage for the ensuing civil war. Stanley G. Payne, an internationally known scholar of modern Spanish history, details the political shifts that occurred from 1933 to 1936 and examines the actions and inactions of key actors during these years. Using their own memoirs, speeches, and declarations, he challenges previous perceptions of various major players, including President Alcalá Zamora.



The breakdown of political coalitions and the internal rifts between Spain's bourgeois and labor classes sparked many instances of violent dissent in the mid-1930s. The book addresses the election of 1933 and the destabilizing insurrection that followed, Alcalá Zamora's failed attempts to control the major parties, and the backlash that resulted. The alliances of the socialist left with communism and the right with fascism are also explored, as is the role of forces outside Spain in spurring the violence that eventually exploded into war.

Biografía del autor

Stanley G. Payne es catedrático emérito de Historia en la Universidad de Wisconsin-Madison. Ha publicado una veintena de libros sobre Historia de España y Europa contemporánea. Entre los más recientes, ¿Por qué la República perdió la guerra?; Franco y Hitler; España, una historia única; La Europa revolucionaria; Franco. Una biografía personal y política (junto a Jesús Palacios); El camino al 18 de julio, En defensa de España. Desmontando mitos y leyendas negras (Premio Espasa 2017) o La revolución española (1936-1939). <br> Es miembro de la American Academy of Arts and Sciences y correspondiente de las RR. AA. de Historia y de Ciencias Morales y Políticas de España. Doctor honoris causa por la Universidad Rey Juan Carlos, Gran Cruz de la Orden de Isabel la Católica y miembro del Consejo Editorial de varias revistas, entre ellas www.kosmos-polis.com.