The Cultural Policy of Spain After the End of The Dictatorship

Proceedings of The 4th International Conference on Future of Social Sciences and Humanities

Year: 2022

DOI: https://www.doi.org/10.33422/4th.fshconf.2022.05.020

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The Cultural Policy of Spain After the End of The Dictatorship

Katerina Papaioannou

ABSTRACT: 

In this study, we address and analyze how Spain has been able to carry out the process of transition to democracy. More particular, we aim to identify the role of culture in order to ensure the implementation of the Constitution which provided for the division of Spain into 17 Autonomous Communities. However, since the 1960s the country had experienced a much more modern and “open” reality than the oppressive regime that prevailed for a long time. This new reality, which was gradually taking shape, was due to both the economic development and the existence of a relative social balance. However, rapid economic growth was not enough to solve the problems that the country was facing. A democratic political system which would recognize a state of the multinational nature and composition was necessary. Thus, the Constitution of 1978 was introduced, which referred to the right of self-government of the historical nationalities and regions of Spain, while maintaining sovereignty over the indivisible Spanish nation. In this context, we address how Spain eventually created a new image of the country both at a european and at an international level. We present an analysis on the role of culture in the transition to democracy, the institutional model of organizing cultural policy in a democratic Spain, as well as the cultural policy of the governments that followed the fall of the dictatorial regime.

keywords: Culture, Cultural policy, cultural strategy, Democracy, Soft power.