ABSTRACT
Paola Lo Cascio examines the transnational influences on Spanish political culture during both the latter part of the Franco regime and the transition. Social and economic change inevitably impacted across diverse political spaces and the Second Republic declined as a reference point amongst the opposition. The regime evolved and, whilst resisting political reform, sought close alignment with patterns of European integration. Italy and the PCI became a key political and intellectual influence within Spanish communism, in particular the concept of the new party. However once democracy arrived, the Spanish party failed to replicate the results of its Italian counterpart. The Cold War profoundly impacted both dictatorship and opposition and contributed to ideological renewal in the social democratic family. Labour and social democratic parties internationally provided key assistance in the renewal of the PSOE, with French and German models especially influential. Whilst sub-state nationalist movements had clear international parallels and influences, the forces of Spanish conservatism had fewer direct international or ideological partners.
