Paloma Aguilar

Alexandra Barahona De Brito

Carmen Gonzalez Enriquez

One of the most important political and ethical questions faced during a political transition from authoritarian or totalitarian to democratic rule is how to deal with legacies of repression. Indeed, some of the most fundamental questions regarding law, morality and politics are raised at such times, as societies look back to understand how they lost their moral and political compass, failing to contain violence and promote the values of tolerance and peace. The Politics of Memory sheds light on this important aspect of transitional politics, assessing how Portugal, Spain, the countries of Central and Eastern Europe and Germany after reunification, Russia, the Southern Cone of Latin America and Central America, as well as South Africa, have confronted legacies of repression. The book examines the presence - or absence - of three types of official efforts to come to terms with the past: truth commissions, trials and amnesties, and purges. In addition, it looks at unofficial initiatives emerging from within society, usually involving human rights organisations (HROs), churches or political parties. Where relevant, it also examines the 'politics of memory,' whereby societies re-work the past in an effort to come to terms with it, both during the transitions and long after official transitional policies have been implemented or forgotten. The book also assesses the significance of forms of reckoning with the past for a process of democratization or democratic deepening. It also focuses on the role of international actors in such processes, as external players are becoming increasingly influential in shaping national policy where human rights are concerned.

Transitional Justice in Democratizing Societies

The Politics of Memory

Leigh A. Payne

The foundation of a stable democracy in Spain was built on a settled account: an agreement that both sides were equally guilty of violence, a consensus to avoid contention, and a pact of oblivion as the pathway to peace and democracy. That foundation is beginning to crack as perpetrators’ confessions upset the silence and exhumations of mass graves unbury new truths. It has become possible, even if not completely socially acceptable, to speak openly about the past, to disclose the testimonies of the victims, and to ask for truth and justice. Contentious coexistence that put political participation, contestation, and expression in practice has begun to emerge. This book analyzes how this recent transformation has occurred. It recognizes that political processes are not always linear and inexorable. Thus, it remains to be seen how far contentious coexistence will go in Spain.

Perpetrators' Confessions and Victim Exhumations

Revealing New Truths about Spain's Violent Past

Paloma Aguilar Fernández

Both in the Department of Political Science Paloma Aguilar

Using a rich variety of sources, this book explores how the historical memory of the Spanish Civil War influenced the transition to democracy in Spain after Franco's death in 1975.

The Role of the Spanish Civil War in the Transition to Democracy

Memory and Amnesia

Paloma Aguilar

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