Magone

Contemporary Spanish Politics

Contemporary Spanish Politics gives a fresh insight into the formal and informal workings of this dynamic southern European democracy. The expanded second edition focuses predominantly on the two governments of Josà Maria Aznar between 1996 and 2004 and the José Luis Zapatero government after 2004. All chapters have been updated and two new chapters have been added on 'Interest Groups and Civil Society' and 'Media and Politics'. Key themes of the book include: -the recent history of Spain after Franco's death -the political culture of the country -the institutional framework -foreign policy including the reaction to the global anti-terrorist coalition -the policy making process and the system of interest intermediation -the party system and electoral process -the dynamics of regional politics (emphasizing Catalan, Basque and Galician nationalism) -the political economy -the external relations of the country within and towards the European Union, the Mediterranean and Latin America.