Payne discusses the history of the Franco regime - the political conflict from which it emerged, its development during the Civil War, and its fundamental transformation of contemporary Spanish society. He also affords valuable insights into the "calculated ambiguity" of Franco's personal style. Aside from the crucial conservation of personal power, Payne argues, Franco never defined a formal ideology and throughout his regime used what he wanted from the ideas of others. On the other hand, he possessed a fundamental set of beliefs that changed very little during his life-time. He believed in nationalism, central unity, Catholicism, strong authoritive government without political parties, and a programme of modern economic development determined by political and nationalistic priorities, with social reform a secondary byproduct of economic growth.
Payne is the author of a number of books on modern Spanish history, including "Spanish Catholicism: An Historical Overview" (1984), "Fascism: Comparison and Definition" (1980) and "A History of Spain and Portugal" (1973), all published by the University of Wisconsin Press, as well as "Basque Nationalism" 1975, "The Spanish Revolution" (1970), "Politics and the Military in Modern Spain" (1967) and "Falange: A History of Spanish Fascism" (1961).
- ISBN10 0299110702
- ISBN13 9780299110703
- Publish Date 15 November 1987
- Publish Status Active
- Out of Print 1 March 2016
- Publish Country US
- Imprint University of Wisconsin Press
- Format Hardcover
- Pages 704
- Language English