To What extent can the Franco Regime (1939 – 1975) be characterised as a Fascist State? Conclusion – A Fascist State?
The main concern of this dissertation was to define the idea regarding whether the Franco regime could effectively be described as fascist. This has involved first coming to an understanding of what a fascist state is then providing a descriptive account of fascism in Spain, and a chapter dealing with the characteristics of the Franco regime. The criteria used for defining a fascist state were related to ideology, economic and societal relations with a specific focus on class. The reasons for this were that I believe this to be the most important factors in defining a state as fascist.
Francoism as an ideology shares some of the tenets of fascism most notably ideas around nationalism, empire and social hierarchy. That said, these points are very problematic, the reaction that characterised the Franco regime was one against republicanism, secularism and modernity. Within it lay a strong belief in tradition that was heavily linked to Spanish history and an understanding of how Spain ought to be governed. The nature of fascism in Italy and Germany had far more of a modernist aura to it most notably around industry and technology not to mention espousing anti-clericalism and its own brand of secularism. This process was in cases very complex as both states sent out mixed messages regarding such issues, for instance Nazi Germany was heavily committed to heavy industry yet it also proposed a traditional idea of man and nature in harmony specifically in culture such as art. As was noted in chapter 1 this was linked to a wilful capitalisation on issues that could benefit the party for political gain, its ideology was varied as a process of such opportune tactics yet it retained several consistent themes. This is an ideological characteristic of all fascist states. Francoism as such did not go through such a process and the civil war can be seen as the factor that helped to bring a sharp focus to Spanish Nationalism, and compelled Franco to build his regime around a coalition of traditional and conservative forces as a matter of military necessity, which was discussed in chapter 2. The civil war unified those forces on the right and gave them a political ideology that converged around ideas such as tradition, religion and nationalism. The end of the civil war merely meant the process by which these ideas should be implemented. There was little need to appeal to other groups as the nationalists had a total victory that was cemented by a harsh period of repression. The forces that made up the Franco regime knew quite clearly what they opposed and what they were fighting for. Unlike fascism there was a less varied and clearer vision for society that was intrinsically linked to a traditional idea of Spain. The ability to capitalise on social grievances was not a factor for Francosim, it cared little for those sections of society that were not its own, it did not need to appease nor win them over as it had won the civil war. The class polarisation of Spanish society was no doubt a factor in this; the civil war was originally planned as a military coup not a revolution as such. In this sense the nationalist’s plans were to assume control of the state for the greater good and to preserve their hegemony over the state against the attacks of the Second Republic. The ‘New Spain’ was in fact nonsense, the aim was a preservation of the status quo and a renewed identity of Spain with its past. As such Francoism cannot be viewed as an ideology compatible with those of fascist states; it has useful points of similarity but has too many differences regarding tradition and its static nature which mainly result from it being founded through a civil war unlike the fascist states.
The question of economic structure is in many ways linked to ideology as the aim in the early years was a process of maintaining the status of control of those forces that had been victorious during the civil war. The landowners and financiers regained control and the economic structure was developed in line with the needs of the victors. The issue of comparison becomes difficult when one compares the relative state of both economies and their prime industries. Spain both pre and post civil war was a heavily agrarian based economy with very small industrial sectors while Germany and Italy had larger industrial sectors (Both did still had agrarian based sectors). This point is useful but whether agrarian or industrial both Franco Spain and the fascist states did not seek to eradicate capitalist relations. The Franco regime was by no means your typical capitalist state; it was heavily state interventionist and attempted a programme of self sufficiency and self competition which proved disastrous. The isolationism of the Franco regime was in large due to external factors rather than internal and in this sense it would be difficult to qualify whether it would have opened up to international trade had it not been isolated. Certainly fascist states were never opposed to trade agreements but they also operated on a strong state interventionist model and pursued programs of self sufficiency. The question of class structure is important as there would be a clear difference in relation to class structures as fascist states had a larger urban working class as opposed to peasants and agricultural labourers operating in Spain. As chapter 3 noted it was the introduction of industry that brought about the growth of class peace within Spain that post Franco helped bring about a liberal democracy. The differences here are again largely unimportant as they merely show that Spain was not at a similar level of industrial development as Italy and Germany yet it remained on the whole a form of capitalism. There was also a high level of workforce discipline yet a complete naivety regarding economic strategy. This lay in the contradiction of wanting to preserve traditional societal relations while striving for economic growth. In short economic relations were of greater similarity to fascist states than that of ideology. Capitalism was maintained with similar state orientation to the economy and while there are notable differences in the stages of industrial and class development the relations were the same.
It would appear on the economic question then that the Franco regime was a fascist state yet one could note that this would qualify practically all authoritarian dictatorships as fascist in their economic approach. This is in itself inadequate; there are numerous examples of states resorting to similar economic models to that of fascism in times of crisis. What differentiates fascist states is the political process by which it comes to power; it is not merely a response to economic and political crisis but the way in which this is manifested. What I refer to here is the process that brought both Mussolini and Hitler to power was one that was marked by similarities relating to mass movements, popular mobilisations, a mass party, and the organisations of private paramilitary and private police formations under the direct control of the party and its leadership. This approach is one that marks fascist states as different from regimes such as Franco’s, yes it was borne out of political crisis, but this was manifested through a process that was markedly different from fascism. The Franco regime was borne out of a civil war; it started as a military coup by a group of elite Generals, not as a process of mass movements and popular mobilisations led by a radical nationalist party. It was Franco’s employment of authoritarian political arrangements that made it easy to see the regime as fascist, yet this ignored the reality of how such things come into being. The regime did not operate on the basis of those attributes associated with fascism; it merely sought to adopt them as a matter of political convenience and exigency. Consequently, this dissertation rejects the notion that Franco’s regime was fascist. Neither the means by which it came to power, nor the manner in which is consolidated or sustained it domination of Spanish society, can be characterised as fascist.
Endnotes
i Ortega y Gasset – A Spanish liberal philosopher most associated with perspectivism. Wrote for the Newspaper El Sol and taught and lectured at several Universities during his career. Regarded as the leading intellect during 1920’s and 30’s and as such his opinion was revered. Fled Spain at outbreak of civil war but returned in late 1940’s to take up post in Madrid at the Institute of Humanities. Alot of material on Gasset is in Spanish but most books dealing with Primo dictatorship and civil war deal with Gasset and his influence. See Payne 1999.
ii Government 1917-1923 – There had been several governments during this period all of whom had failed to remedy Spain’s economic and political problems. Most notable during this period were the military defeats in Morocco and the conflicts with the Anarchist CNT in Barcelona. In both cases the government had become extremely unpopular both with the working and middle classes. See Brenan 1943/1978. iii UGT – Unión General de Trabajadores (General Union of Workers). Historically affiliated with the PSOE (Spanish Socialist Party) and seen by many as the Socialist trade union as compared with the Anarchist CNT. A varied and somewhat complex history due to conflicts regarding its radical and reformist wings. A major faction during the Second Republic and civil war and banished during Franco regime. It emerged after regime and remains active to this day. Detailed in most books dealing with civil war. See Broue/Temime 1970 and Brenan 1943/1978.
iv Haroun al Rashid – A Arab Abbasid Caliph in Iraq during 9th century. Rashid’s rule was marked by a scientific, religious and cultural prosperity. He was also a very capable politician and military tactician. In using the comparison Brenan must be alluding to the similarities in relation to prosperity and the military victory in Morocco. See Clot 1989.
v Edmondo Rossoni – One of the leaders of national syndicalism in Italy prior to First World War and who the joined fascists in 1921 eventually becoming undersecretary to the Fascist Grand Council. Imprisoned after World War Two. Seen by many as an important intellect with particular reference to the merging of syndicalism with fascism. See Sternhell 1994 for more on fascism and syndicalism. See Tinghino 1990 for account of Rossoni’s life. vi SA – Sturmabteilung (Storm troopers). The SA was the first paramilitary group of the Nazi Party and was its armed wing during the 1920’s and 1930’s. Referred to also as ‘Brownshirts’ due to the uniform they wore they were compared with Mussolini’s Blackshirts. Originally one of the major factions within the Nazi party the SA lost influence after the ascension of power by Hitler in 1933. This was down to several factors including personal rivalries but also political views, the SA were seen as to radical by other groups within the party particularly their perceived socialist views. In 1934 their leaders were either arrested or executed in what is known as the ‘Night of the Long knives’. A mass of material is available on the SA. See Sternhell 1994 for work on Syndicalism and see Fisher 2002 for rise of Nazi’s.
vii CEDA – Confederacion Espanola de Derechas Autonomas (Spanish Confederation of the Autonomous Right) A political alliance of right wing catholic parties brought together under Gil Robles. It won power in 1933 but disintegrated after losing 1936 election with most of its members joining the Falange. See Beevor 1982/2007.
viii Carlists – Communion Tradicionalista (Traditional Communion) Supporters of the rival Bourbon line of Don Carlos as opposed to Alfonsine line. Fiercely ultra-catholic and historically opposed to liberalism. See Beevor 1982/2007 also for history see Brenan 1943/1978.
ix General Mola – (Emilio) Along with Jose Sanjuro the leading army officer involved in uprising and one of the main conspirators. After Sanjuro’s death Mola became commander of Army of the North with Franco
commander of the Army of the South. Died in June 1937 in airplane crash. Was posthumously given title Duke after death which his son inherited. See Beevor 1982/2007 and Payne 1999.
x Franco ascension – Franco became military chief on 21st September after military chiefs voted him Commander-in-Chief over Mola and a Junta. This confirmed above all Franco’s supremacy and there would be very few challenges to this from this point on. See Payne 1999 and Beevor 1982/2007.
xi Calvo Sotelo – A leading Conservative politician during Second Republic and previously a minister under Primo. Was a Deputy for Renovacion Espanola (RE) a pro monarchist party and leader of the opposition against the Popular Front. Was assassinated by Socialist Party members on July 13th 1936 and this is widely believed to have convinced the plotting Generals to go through with the uprising. It also convinced Franco to support it. See Preston 1994.
44
xii Junta Politica – What would become Franco’s political council and was used during the war as a way of bringing together the nationalist forces and maintaining Franco’s supremacy. See Payne 1999.
xiii Fate of Hedilla and Fal Conde – Following Franco’s rise Hedilla was arrested and sentenced to death for treason. Sentenced was reduced to life imprisonment and Hedilla was eventually pardoned in 1946 and released. Eventually established himself as a private businessman and did quite well for himself. Died in 1970.
Manuel Fal Conde leader of the Carlists like Hedilla refused to take part in the FET mainly as an opponent of political parties preferring the idea of movements. He wanted as did all Carlists a restored Bourbon Monarchy which Franco would never countenance. Franco gave Fal Conde a choice of either court martial or exile; he chose the latter and moved to Portugal where he died in 1975. See Payne 1999 for both figures.
xiv Appeasement – The term generally used to denote the period during which successive states (particularly the UK and France) tried to avoid conflict with Nazi Germany. Blocs of influence arose and the period became more and tenser with Hitler continually breaking the Versailles Treaty. It culminated with Hitler’s invasion of Poland and the UK and France declaring war. Numerous books deal with this topic. See Bolloten 1991 for a good understanding of geo-politics at the time.
xv Fascist state – It is worth noting here that the denoting of the Franco regime as fascist had alot to do with the Comintern directives for what could be labelled fascist during the period. This had been extremely varied at one point Social Democrat parties were given the title ‘Social Fascists’. Most parties of the right could be referred to as fascist. It is understandable in such a climate to see why the Nationalists and later the Franco regime would be labelled fascist. See Broue/Temime 1970 and Bolloten 1991.
xvi Caudillo – Franco was referred to as Caudillio de Espana porla Gracia de Dios (Great leader of Spain by the grace of God). Franco is referred to by this title in several books along with Generalissimo. The term tends to denote a military leader though it has several different interpretations. See: Payne 1987.
iiFreemasonry – Franco was obsessed by what he perceived as the conspiratorial nature of freemasonry and passed a law prohibiting it. Most broad biographies of Franco deal with this along with works on the regime and civil war. See: Carr/Fusi 1979/1983.
xviii Moors and reunification – The victory over the Moors was a major episode in Spanish history. It is seen by many as the birth of Spain and also the beginning of its Golden Age. An interesting fact to note is that the victory set into place the territorial differences within Spain that were to last. The power of Castile and the only region not to be conquered being in the North including the Basque country. These factors have been of great importance to Spain ever since the Moors were defeated. There are several books on the victory over the Moors and also many dealing with the regional differences within Spain. See Brenan 1943/1978 for geo- political differences within Spain and Payne 1999 gives a good understanding to the nationalist idea that resonated in relation to empire and unification.
xix Opus dei – Word of God. A very interesting group within the Franco regime that show more than any other both the contradictions of the regime and its evolution. It is still in existence to this day. Most of the work dealing with them is in Spanish though a few English books give good details about them. See: Payne 1987
xx 1898 – The loss of its final colonies in the Caribbean to the U.S. was seen by many as an insult given the relative youth of the victors. It had a strong effect on many people within Spain most notably a group of writers called the ‘Generation of ‘98’. They emerged in this period and wrote a great deal about the question of Spanish identity among other things. All books that detail the background of both the civil war and regime should bare mention of the significance of 1898. See: Brenan 1943/1978.
xxi Autarky – Literally means self-sufficient and this is thus applied to political and economic systems that attempt this. Can be traced back to certain elements of mercantilism in respect of trading within empire. Is generally seen as a policy sought by fascist states specifically Nazi Germany though to what degree it was implemented is debatable. Other examples can include states such as Stalinist dictatorships like Albania and presently North Korea. See Payne 1987 for good information on Spain’s claim to be an Autarky.
xxii Agrarian question – The question of agrarian reform was a permanent fixture in Spain for nearly two centuries and it remained unresolved and was a major factor in the causation of the Spanish civil war. In many ways it personified the regime and its traditionalism with how it conducted agrarian affairs up until the late 1950’s. See Brenan 1943/1978.
xxiii Globalisation – denotes the now global character of economic relations and other issues such as culture. Dates regarding when it appeared vary from the ending of Second World War to the ending of the cold war. Other critics see it as a mere continuation of capitalist development while others see it as a significant break with previous relations between states. Numerous books available on the topic and broader international relations. See: Bayliss/Owens/Smith (eds) 2008.
45
xxiv Italian and German self sufficiency – The goals of self-sufficiency within the two states were related to its goals of attaining an Autarkic economy and weakening others. However both states traded with each other and Germany imported alot of raw material for rearmament. See Kershaw 1985/1993 for details of German economy and see Blinkhorn 1984/1994 for Italy.
Bibliography
Arendt, H. (1951/1973) The Origins of Totalitarianism (London, Trinity Press).
Beevor, A. (1982/2000) The Battle for Spain (London, Phoenix Press).
Blinkhorn, M. (1984/1994) Mussolini and Fascist Italy (London, Routledge).
Blinkhorn, M. (1990) Fascists and Conservatives: the radical right and the establishment in twentieth-century Europe (London, Unwyn Hyman).
Bolloten, B. (1991) The Spanish Civil War; Revolution and Counterrevolution (Hemel Hempstead, Harvester Wheatseaf).
Borkenau, F. (1938/2000) The Spanish Cockpit (London, Phoenix Press).
Brenan, G. (1943/1978) The Spanish Labyrinth (London, Cambridge University Press).
Broue, P. / Temime, E. (1970) The Revolution and Civil War in Spain (London, Faber and Faber).
Broszat, M. (1981) The Hitler State: The foundation and development of the internal structure of the Third Reich (New York, Longman Inc).
Carr, R. (1980) Modern Spain 1875-1980 (Oxford, Oxford University Press)
Carr, R. / Fusi, J.P. (1979/1983) Spain: dictatorship to democracy (London, Allen and Unwin).
Clot, A. (1989) Haroun al-Rashid and the world of the Thousand and one nights (London, Saqi publishers).
Davies, P. /Lynch, D. (2002) The Routledge Companion to Fascism and the Far-Right (London, Routledge).
Fischer, C. (2002) The rise of the Nazis 2nd edition (Manchester, Manchester University Press).
Friedrich, C.J./Brzezinski, Z. (1965) Totalitarian Dictatorship and Autocracy 2nd edition (New York, Praeger).
Gilmour, D. (1985) the transformation of Spain: from Franco to the Constitutional Monarchy (London, Quartet Books Limited).
Grugel, J. /Rees, T. (1997) Franco’s Spain (London, Arnold Publishers).
47
Kershaw, I. (1985/1993) The Nazi Dictatorship; 3rd edition (London, Hodder and Staughton).
Kitchen, M. (1976/1994) Fascism (London, Macmillan).
Orwell, G. (1938/1989) Homage to Catalonia (London, Penguin Books).
Payne, S.G. (1999) Fascism in Spain 1923-1977 (Wisconsin, University of Wisconsin Press).
Payne, S.G. (1987) The Franco Regime 1936-1975 (Wisconsin, University of Wisconsin Press).
Poulantzas, N. (1970/1974) Fascism and Dictatorship: the Third International and the problem of Fascism (London, New Left Books).
Poulantzas, N. (1976) The Crisis of the Dictatorships: Portugal, Greece and Spain (London, New Left Books).
Preston, P. (1994) Franco: a biography (London, Harper Collins).
Romero, F.J.S. (1999) Twentieth-century Spain: politics and society in Spain 1898-1998 (New York, Macmillan).
Schapiro, L. (1972) Totalitarianism (London, Macmillan).
Sternhell, Z. (1994) The birth of Fascist Ideology: From cultural rebellion to political revolution (Chichester, Princeton University Press).
Thomas, H. (1968/1970) The Spanish Civil War 2nd edition (London, Hamilton).
Tingho, J.J. (1990) Edmondo Rossoni: From Revolutionary Syndicalism to Fascism (New York, Peter Lang).
Essays within readers and edited books
Ben-Ami, S. (1983) Fascism from above: The dictatorship of Primo de Rivera in Spain, 1923-1930, in Kallis, A. (Editor) (2003) The Fascism Reader (London, Routledge) pp475-482.
Dunne,
T. (2008) ‘Liberalism’, in Baylis, J., Smith, S, and Owens, P. (eds), ‘The Globalisation of World Politic, 4th Edition’ (Oxford, Oxford University Press) pp110-120.
Ellwood, S.M. (1986) Falange Espanola 1933-1939: from Fascism to Francoism, in Kallis, A, (Editor) (2003) The Fascism Reader (London, Routledge) pp223-232.
48
Esteban, J. (1976) The economic policy of Francoism: an interpretation, in Preston, P. (Editor) (1976) Spain in Crisis: the evolution and decline of the Franco Regime (Sussex, Harvester Press) pp.82-101.
Mackenzie, A. (eds) The Republic Besieged: Civil War in Spain 1936 – 1939 (Edinburgh, Edinburgh University Press) pp 1-22.
Moradiella, E. (1996) The Gentle General: The official British perception of General Franco during the Spanish Civil War, in Preston, P. And Mackenzie, A. (eds) The Republic Besieged Civil War in Spain 1936 – 1939 (Edinburgh, Edinburgh University Press) pp23-48.
Paxton, R.O. (1998) The Five stages of Fascism, in Kallis, A. (Editor) (2003) The Fascism Reader (London, Routledge) pp 89-101.
Preston, P. (1996) Mussolini’s Spanish Adventure: From Limited Risk to War, in Preston, P. And Mackenzie, A. (eds) The Republic Besieged: Civil War in Spain 1936 – 1939 (Edinburgh, Edinburgh University Press).
Southworth, H.R. (1976) The Falange: an analysis of Spain’s Fascist heritage, in Preston, P. (Editor) (1976) Spain in Crisis: the evolution and decline of the Franco Regime (Sussex, Harvester Press) pp.1-23.
Liam's Labyrinth 