Comparative Analysis of Authoritarian Spain, Italy and Germany - Research Paper Example

Name: Course: Tutor: Date: A Comparative Analysis of Authoritarian Spain, Italy and Germany Authoritarian/dictatorship regimes dominated much of Europe right after World War I right through to the end of the Second World War. Among the countries affected included Spain under Francisco Franco from 1939 to the 1970s, Italy under the rule of Benito Mussolini and Nazi Germany under Adolph Hitler’s rule. This period lasted between the 1920s and 1940s in Germany. The three countries are within close proximity and the politics of the time demanded that they share some of the aspects of authoritarian rule. Spain in particular was affected because at the time while under Franco, there was much pressure from the west and therefore Franco had to associate himself with like-minded leaders. Part of this was because during the Spanish Civil War of 1936-1939 Franco receive assistance from Italy and Germany and partly from its common neighbor Portugal. These interactions therefore impacted Spain in a lot of ways and much of this impact can still be felt today; the ETA a rebel group that sprouted during this period of anarchy still is of influence today in Spain. Among the policies that were affected in Spain included political economic and social policies. It is of note that politics has great importance in any society. Therefore in the case of Franco Spain, politics played a major role and its effects overflowed to key pillars of any society including the economy and society itself (Landman 114). This paper will therefore look into all these aspects and how they changed Spain then and now with a focus on contemporary Spain. Francisco Franco seized power from the Second Spanish Republic after a severe civil war that spanned three years. He was a general in the army but did not share the sentiments of the then government and the coup that ensured was partly coincidental. At the time of the Great depression Spain like many European countries was undergoing hardships. There was famine and food was scarce, the people especially the workers were tired of living in poor conditions, there were riots and total civil unrest as people demanded more from the government. Franco therefore took advantage of this situation and staged a coup with the help of his loyal officers who were also disgruntled by the same government; the army did not support the Second Republic because of the cuts made in the military budget because of the effects of the depression. In 1939 he took power and declared himself as the supreme ruler of Spain; it being a monarchy he declared himself king and the commander in chief. This happened with the help of Germany and Italy through the supply of arms, food and machine tools used during the civil war. This however did not go unnoticed as the West mainly the USA was against Communist rule in Spain. During their policy of isolation, the USA would prefer a Franco government rather than a Republic that could fall under the influence of the communist. But the German and Italian Influence at the time meant that Franco would join forces with the Axis of Evil and consequently support the exploits of Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy. At the time Franco had no adopted ideology apart from strong anti-communist sentiments partly because the Soviet Union was against his regime and his seize of Power from the Second Republic. Soon after he seized power, the Second World War broke out. The whole of Europe was at war; Franco had to take sides with the Axis. This he did though he proclaimed neutrality; he sent some Spanish troops to join the Germans in Russia (Frazee pp 393-410). Franco’s leadership was characterized with military rule; martial law took effect in 1939 after he took power and lasted for almost a decade. This was the basic law that governed Spain for this period. During this period many people disappeared for no reason at all. The army took over all aspects of the society itself and governed it as it saw fit. This was the same for Germany and Italy. The subsequent armies took over and run down the economies either in supporting the war machinery or simply mismanaging the little they hard. The three countries in focus were particularly affected because of the policies the leaders at that time enacted. In Spain during the Second World War as it will be mentioned later, a policy of self sufficiency was put in place. This meant that the country would cut back on imports and simply rely on the resources they had to by ensuring that all were contributing to wards the well being of the country. What come after such policies further deteriorated the economy and living conditions. To show the worsening conditions in Spain, Franco blamed the elements of democracy that The Second Republic was trying to implement in Spain, for dividing the country. To Franco, democracy was the problem in Spain; it emphasized on the diversity rather than bring the people together. What he did next was dissolve all customary marriages, they affected had to convert publicly to Christianity to even be allowed to get married in the first place. All this cement the fact that Franco was a dictator. Politics As discussed above Franco had no clear ideology apart from a strong anti-communist sentiment. At the time of his assent into power, he had the army and the majority of Spain behind him; his take over therefore seemed legitimate. Like Germany and Italy, the first thing that Franco did was to consolidate power around him; the law was therefore changed and those who opposed him were persecuted (Landman 168). Franco soon after 1939 was declared the source of legitimate authority in Spain. He had the power to appoint ministers or change any law at will. He was not motivated by an Ideology or any political theory; he was a soldier all his life and some argue that he did not conform to any standards of politics. He therefore ruled with an iron fist, much like in the army; authoritarian rule (Magone pp. 33-70). This is very similar in both Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy; the first thing the leaders did was to consolidate power around them and to eliminate all opposition. In the case of Spain there was a lot of unrest and the people wanted more which he had promised. In Italy, the people were tired of the Fascist Monarch that had governed them for so long they wanted to participate in the process and this led to the appointment of Mussolini ad Prime Minister, eventually he abolished multiparty politics, Nazi Germany was also the same; Hitler using his influence within a disgruntled Germany eliminated the opposition and consolidated power around himself (Landman 168). The other similarity is that in all the cases there was some legitimacy from the public. The people allowed this people into power. The consequences were therefore very similar. Franco in not conforming to a political procedure abolished the constitution; like in Italy and Germany. In its place there were seven laws or decrees that acted in its place; among them included the Labor Charter in 1938 that set forth the social policy of the government. It declared that all the people must work for the state. It also established a clear procedure on wages such as adequate pay and vacation with pay but at the same time declared all strikes illegal despite the situation. Second was the 1942 Law of the Cortes or Parliament. The parliament then was declared a purely advisory body that could only ratify laws brought to it by the executive; it had no power to legislate but only to agree with the executive. The members were therefore Franco’s puppets. The third came in 1945 after the end of the war. It was an attempt to appease the Allies. The charter of rights was therefore more of cosmetic, a show to the west that his regime was not as bad as it had been described. The condition on the ground was very different. The state had given the people fundamental rights but it reserved the power to cancel the same rights as it deemed necessary. The forth decree came in the same year 1945, Laws of referenda. This was also an effort to appease the Allies as it was meant to make the regime appear as friendly to the people of Spain by insisting on the people’s participation on National issues. But Franco retained the decision of such issues that could be taken to the people for consent for example in an election the people could only choose from a number of appointees by Franco (Balfour pp 130-138). In 1947 came the Law of Succession. This declared Spain a Catholic, Social and Representative Monarchy with Franco as the regent for life. In the event that he was not able to perform them the successor would be appointed through a public referendum. In 1958, came the Laws on the Principles of National Movement. The national movement was a body of right wing institutions allied to Franco; they were given the sole forum for political participation. They were to popularize Franco in and outside Spain by ensuring that his regime seemed participatory. Last was the Organic Law of the State in 1966. This was an effort to codify and clarify the existing practices in Spain political scene. It also differentiated the roles of the head of government and those of the head of State. All this laws were so similar to those adopted under Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy though the other two regimes did not last as long as Spain under Franco. The other two did not go beyond the end of World War II. After the war Franco was isolated but soon after the west warmed up to him because of his anti-communism tendencies. This brought about a new epoch in Franco Spain (Spielvogel pp. 826-827). Social and Economic: Spain is culturally a diverse nation and it has been so since time immemorial. The dominant religion is catholic. Unfortunately under Franco, this diversity was ignored. The dominant religion was imposed on all in Spain and those who refused to conform risked being isolated through a series of policies for example for one to get a job with the government one had to be a catholic and if not had to one had to leave his believes and confess to catholic. To apply for jobs in the government in some instances one had to acquire a letter of good conduct from the local priests who strongly supported the move as it ensured the stability of the religion within the state. Franco also practiced neglect towards those communities that did not support him. This led to great inequalities in some regions compared to others; some had a lot of resources while others suffered and did not have adequate schools and no Universities. This led mass movement by these individuals into the cities like Madrid (Perry; Jacob; Jacob pp 783-788). The same was seen in schools. Initially the schools practiced tolerance towards cultural issues but during Franco’s time schools had to adopt policies that inhibited the same tolerance. Spanish was made the national language. Schools had to teach in Spanish. This was Franco’s way of ensuring that some sub cultures in Spain disappeared completely. The Basque in particular was very much affected and it was predicted that if the same language politics continued the Basque culture would have completely disappeared. The only cultural practices that were tolerated were the annual bull fighting and the flamenco and were adopted as national events. All the other cultures were banned under Franco’s rule at least for some time. Economically, Spain suffered a lot during the great depression. It is believe that the effects of the depression lead to the civil unrest of the 1930s in Spain. The reserves had been finished during the war. The same goes for the infrastructure, industries and the agricultural sector. The global shortages further aggravated the situation. There was a shortage of basic food stuffs, raw materials, and other industrial products. Spain was in need of assistance; the Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy who had helped Franco into power had no plan for Spanish economic recovery because of the possibilities of a world war. Neither could risk lending valuable money to Spain nor provide any other form of assistance. Spain had also experienced a massive brain drain partly because of the war and partly due to the adopted policies that many disagreed with therefore there had been a massive exodus of people to other more stable countries. The effects of all this meant that Spain could do little to help their situation (Landman 170). After the war there was isolation by the West due to its support to Nazi Germany and the Axis in general. This meant a period of even more problems as Spain was blocked from joining the UN in 1945; at that time the UN was coming up with economic recovery strategies to assist the allied friends to develop after the war. The funding mainly came from the US. Franco’s regime in an effort to reduce the effects of their failed economy, adopted an economic policy of self-sufficiency in the 1940s. The effects of this policy were severe and placed more pressure on the Francoist State. The country experienced hyper inflation, the people starved due to a massive shortage of food; the little that was there had to be rationed and the people were issued with ration cards. In event the black market flourished but only the very capable were accorded the privileges. This was certainly a terrible time for Spain but was short-lived. The cold war started and the US was looking for allies in the propaganda war against the Soviet Union (USSR). Franco was therefore a prime candidate. Consequently, the Madrid Pact was signed in Madrid in the 1950’s. This saw massive support and finances trickle into Spain; estimates are over 1 billion dollars in aid came in. Therefore the following years saw an improved situation in Spain but according to others, there were massive social problems corruption being key followed by an inefficient and bloated bureaucracy that inhibited the positives (Frazee pp. 393-410). Contemporary Spain: After Franco died, several issues emerged and at the same time several agreements came to be. First was that the Francoist regime had collapsed and with it the Francoist notion of leadership. The agreement was between all the factions of the time; the agreed to move towards democracy by merging several aspect of f reforms from the Franco regime with clear cut and good policies of transition and democracy. What emerged was a hybrid government that was committed to the future of Spain. There was also a pact of silence that was agreed upon by all in the Spanish state; the pact simply ensured that the people who committed the atrocities of the Spanish Civil War will not be brought to book (Balfour; Quiroga pp 45-100). The war at that time divided Spain along line that further divided families and the society at large. It was considered a war amongst brothers and sisters. All side had committed atrocities and made mistakes during the war. Therefore all were guilty and all would keep silence for the future of Spain. It is this agreement that ensured a hybrid and progressive government in place. The pact was there until 1996. This is so because many wanted to know what their parents and grandparents had endured during the war and the early years of Franco. What is evident in this situation is that the lessons of the past were learned hard. Pain at that time had only one way to got and that was forward. This is very different compared to what happened in Italy after Mussolini and Germany after Hitler; in both countries the people who committed the atrocities in the countries were sentenced some to death and others to life imprisonment. This was accomplished with the assistance of the Allies particularly in Germany. Though all the countries suffered there has been great progress over the years and all three are committed to democracy (Payne pp. 61-80). Looking at Spain after Franco and the subsequent governments that followed a lot can be said. To begin with, with the help of the west i.e. the USA and the European Commission today the European Union, Spain transition into democracy was achieved with great success (Payne 22-30). Although today there still exists a faction of the militant ETA, a Basque group that has adopted militant tendencies in an effort to gain independence. This is among the problems that Spain adopted due to the authoritarian Franco government. As mentioned earlier the Basque were among the most affected communities in Spain as they had adopted communist tendencies during the Franco era with him being anti-communist the results can only be imagined. The Basque suffered greatly under Franco. This led to a resolution for the Basque region to gain independence from main Spain; a preposition Spain has refused to agree to. Consequently the Basque under the ETA political and military group have often committed various acts of terror on main land Spain and France. Today the EU doesn’t recognize the ETA and it is termed as a terrorist group by the EU Spain and the US (Anderson 28-70). On the other side there is a lot that has been learned by the Spanish leadership from the years under Franco. Today Spain enjoys relative peace and great prosperity. The people of Spain are united under one leadership and flag. Spain is among the most cultural states/countries in the world. The country also enjoys a lot of membership in a number of international organization. All this can be attributed to the lessons learned during the leadership of Franco (Balfour pp. 130-138). Conclusion: In conclusion, Spain is a country located in Europe. The country has over some time under gone a number of problems especially under the leadership of Francisco Franco; the Spanish State as it was referred to at that time had a lot of similarities with Fascist Italy and Nazi Germany. The two also assisted Franco in seizing power during the Spanish Civil War of 1936 -1939. Franco was then an army general with little facts on how to lead a country. The policies he adopted in the beginning of his reign were quite comparable to those of Fascist Italy and Nazi Germany. Though the two countries helped Franco gain power they had no plans to help him revamp the countries economy. The war and other global shortages made the Spanish situation worse. All this issues therefore have impacted the modern Spanish State today either positively or negatively. Positively, the state has learned from the mistakes made by Franco and subsequently after his death the country progressed towards democracy. Also the country ensured various national issues that had been violated or abandoned by Franco, have been used to forge a stronger and more united Spain. The county therefore decided to use their diversity to bring them closer together. Unfortunately the Basque region has over time, since the oppression it endured under Franco, wanted to succeed. The region through the ETA has therefore been pressuring the Spain to grant it its wish to no avail making it turn to violent tendencies that have been described as terrorism by he EU Spain and the USA. Works Cited Anderson Wayne. The ETA. New York, N.Y: The Rosen Publishing Group. 2003. Balfour Sebastian and Quiroga Alejandro. The Reinvention of Spain: Nation and Identity since Democracy. Oxford; New York: Oxford University Press. 2007. Balfour Sebastian. The Politics of Contemporary Spain. New York: Routledge. 2004. Frazee Charles A. World History the easy way. Hauppauge, N.Y: Barron’s Educational Series. 1997. Landman Todd. Issues and Methods in Comparative Politics: An Introduction (2nd edition). New York: Routledge. 2003. Magone Jose’ Maria. Contemporary Spanish Politics (2nd edition). New York: Routledge. 2009. Payne Stanley G. Franco and Hitler: Spain, Germany, and World War II. New Haven: Yale University Press. 2008. Perry Marvin et al. Western Civilization: Ideas, Politics and Society. Boston: Houghton Mifflin. 2009. Spielvogel Jackson. Western Civilization (7th Edition). Belmont, CA: Thomson Wadsworth. 2009. Read More