The authors decided to deal with the theme of the influence of corruption on the political processes in contemporary Spain and Catalonia. The investigation of this problem requires the reference to both: a political situation in entire state and in the peripheral region, included in the territorial range of Spain. Therefore, the main objective of the article is the attempt to answer three questions: 1) What is the corruptive phenomenon based on and why a public sphere is endangered with it to such a degree?, 2) How did the Spanish citizens react to corruptive processes after 2008?, 3) Did Catalonia, whose politicians regard this region as definitely separate from Spain, differ considerably from a political centre and other regions of the country within intensity of the occurrence of corruptive phenomena after 2008?
Since the 1950s Spain has developed a set of policies aimed at stimulating ownership through subsidies mainly in the form of interest rates or mortgage quotas to developers and households neglecting other forms of housing provision, for instance social rent. That system provided one off benefit to the developer and/or the purchaser and could not be reused to help other households. The financial crisis in 2008 evidenced the weakness of the Spanish housing system in providing affordable and secure shelter by means other than homeownership. The existent housing provision system failed to avoid the large number of evictions while simultaneously banks became owners of a large amount of empty dwellings. To some extent, the severity of the situation exerted considerable political pressure to devise a new framework for action to alleviate the housing problem in Spain. In this paper based on the post -crisis evidence we argue the need to reformulate approaches to provide adequate and affordable housing for certain collectives in Spain.
After 11 March, Spain remained part of the militant Salafist narrative and constituted a potential target of attacks. Spanish territory was also used for undertakings in the regional (European) and global (Iraq, countries of Maghreb, and the Middle East) dimensions. This strategy constitutes an important indicator of the polymorphism of contemporary jihadist terrorism, including in the case of radical Salafist networks in Spain. Structures associated with the global network of jihadist groups (such as GSPC/AQIM, GICM and others) and cells of radicals that recruit in virtual space and maintain only declarative affiliations to Al Qaeda’s international structures have all made their presence felt in this country.
The article focus on the Spanish party Podemos, which has received in recent years a very strong support of the electorate in several elections. The author analyzes the media strategy of the party in the context of the theory of media systems and the mediatization of politics and the politicization of the media. The aim of the article is to show how Podemos used mass media, especially television, to realize their own political assumptions.
The article examines transnational character of the Senegalese Diaspora in Spain. A short account of the history of migrations from Senegal to Europe introduces the subject. Special emphasis is put on the continuation of the colonial discourse in the representation of African immigrants. The main focus of the analysis is on the transnational practices of the Senegalese in Spain. These are conducted through the bond that links the community with the society of origin. This strong attachment helps to resist the influence of the European culture, especially in the sphere of values and customs.
The objective of this study is the characterisation of the Spanish autonomous communities as tourist destinations for Spanish trips, based on the activities carried out, using the principal component method. The Spanish tourist is not only motivated by the sun and beach. This paper aims to clarify how Spanish people consider other tourist destinations. We contrast how frequently other types of tourism are valued when choosing their destination within the Spanish geography. Inland tourism, sports tourism, entertainment as well as gastronomy are becoming increasingly important.
The article follows the recent developments in the labour markets of Spain and Italy. The two countries in focus represent the 'Mediterranean model' of capitalism, in line with the Varieties of Capitalism (VoC) approach. The impact of the global economic recession has been severe in both countries, which is reflected in high and rising unemployment figures. In the two countries, profound institutional reforms were implemented under pressure of the European Union (EU) prior to the crisis, yet the process has also continued after the onset of the recession. Using the field of labour relations as the example, the author looks at the tensions emerging between the embedded forms of capitalism (national context) and the 'disembedded' forms of capitalism which are imposed from above (EU context).
Many young people tend to present low financial literacy needed to make financial decisions in their self-interest. This problem affects activities related to entrepreneurship as well, concerning limited knowledge of available forms of financing or willingness to run own business overall. Nonetheless, according to the scientific literature and the current state of research, the awareness of the financial literacy importance seems to be growing gradually. This paper is based upon a research of students from Poland and Spain in context of entrepreneurial activities and financial literacy. Connection between those two phenomena is discussed.
The transformations inherent to the Second Demographic Transition have evolved in in¬tensity and timing in a differential manner in many European countries. The changes in demographic patterns are a reflection, to a large extent, of the transformations in values and attitudes towards fertility, nuptiality and forms of coexistence; transformations that act on a differential cultural, economic and political substratum in each national or regional context. Spain and Poland are two countries that have followed different processes; however, they are joined by a legal constraint, late chronology and economic recession. The aim of this paper is to analyse differences in attitudes of Spanish and Polish respondents towards having or not having children and the differences in two periods of time in both countries. In the article, fertility patterns in Poland and Spain were compared and examined in a dual perspective: firstly, considering the fertility data provided by official statistics. Secondly, from a subjective perspective considering attitudes and opinions about having or not having children. The Second Demographic Transition (SDT) is the theoretical background regarded as a driving force to understand this phenomenon. A subjective perspective on fertility was analysed on the data from the European Social Survey (ESS) in two periods of time: during rounds three (2006) and nine (2018), to capture the changes in respondents’ attitudes to having or not having children. Independent samples of tests and an analysis of variance (ANOVA) were used in statistical analyses and were performed using SPSS. The results reflect differences in both countries. While Spain began a change in attitudes towards parenthood (having or not having children) in the early 1980s, and during the analysed period was consolidating its opinion, the starting point from Poland is more conservative, but shows an intense move towards being more flexible with new behaviour patterns.
This article analyses the evolution of civil-military relations in Spain from 1923 to 2021. The research defines the role of the military organisation during two authoritarian regimes in the 20th century along with the country's democratic transition. After a historical overview, the military change process known as Experimental Brigade 2035 is selected as a case study to determine whether its origin is civilian or military in nature. The results of the research evidence the civilian influence in budgetary issues and limits in performance. At the same time, the military has a certain autonomy to implement modernisation plans in the framework of assigned competences.
This paper analyses the impact of Spanish Renaissance science (particularly natural history and cosmography) – or rather, its methodology – on the scientific thought of Francis Bacon. The aim of this study is to identify the features of Baconian thought that are similar to some of the concepts and practices of Spanish scholars (Francisco Hernandez, Juan Huarte de San Juan and cosmographers of the House of Trade in Seville). Specifically, the text tries to demonstrate the hypothetic influence of Spanish thought on Bacon's concepts of the institutionalisation of knowledge, empirical and experimental methods of scientific research, the idea that "power is knowledge" and the ways of classification of sciences. Some simplifications and misinterpretations of the Spanish roots of Baconian science (Cañizares-Esguerra, A. Barrera-Osorio, T. J. Reiss, D. Goodman and J. Pimentel) are also reappraised or refuted in this paper.
Political situation in present-day Spain is complicated because of many types of crisis. Interaction between media, public opinion and political actors is interesting because media’s activity can cause many changes in political system. The main aim of this article is to verify the hypothesis of the aforementioned de-democratisation process in Spain.
The article tackles selected problems that arose in Spain after the outbreak of the global COVID-19 pandemic. The author focuses mainly on the phenomenon of social inequalities which enlarged significantly in the discussed period. This process was caused by the necessity to introduce sanitary restrictions to protect human life and health. However, they also brought negative consequences in the form of an increase in unemployment which in Spain affected primarily tourism industry, entertainment and recreation services and transportation. It was assumed by the author that the inequality issue would be one of the highest priority for the Spanish government and would be addressed indirectly by reforms introduced in economic recovery plans after the pandemic. In the second part of the article the author also tries to identify the challenges for Spanish diplomacy. The problems associated with Spanish participation in the policy of the European Union are presented. The author assumed that Spanish diplomacy would intensify its activities on the European Union forum during the time of crisis in order to, among other, obtain aid funds on favourable terms. The author also raised the issue of factors that could strengthen Spain’s position and at the same time ensure that its activity within the European Union might be a key to the success of the reforms introduced after the health crisis. The method used included the analysis of existing materials, statistical data, reports and studies published in the period after the outbreak of the pandemic in Europe in 2020. Most of the research was based on Internet sources: reports and analyses of Spanish researchers, government databases, factsheets, and information published by non-governmental organizations.
This article discusses the distribution of paternal property within rural communi-ties in the interior of the Iberian Peninsula, through an analysis of familial inher-itance of a widow from Extremadura. As a source for the study, the author draws on the Cadastre Ledger of the Marquis of Ensenada (1761), kept in the General Archive of Simancas (AGS), capturing changes in the family estate of a country widow (living in the village of Alcuéscar) in the mid-eighteenth century resulting from a transfer of property. Using the method of quantitative analysis developed by the Annales School, the author examines the issue from several standpoints; on the one hand, this enables insights into the increases and reductions in the volume of real estate (urban and rural) and the real estate assets of such women through pur-chases and sales. On the other, the author is also able to analyze and outline the distribution ofa widow’s property during her life and after her death.
In mid-2018, after the vote of no confidence to the government of Mariano Rajoy, the Socialists of PSOE took over the rule in Spain. In the article parliamentary debate on the objectives and directions of the foreign policy of the new cabinet is analyzed. The purpose of the analysis is to show the place of international affairs and foreign actions of the state in Spanish politics.
The aim of this paper is to present the development of general government debt in two Eurozone countries: Ireland and Spain that suffered from serious imbalance in public finance during the last crisis. Prior to the crisis, both economies were developing well against the background of the whole Eurozone and had a relatively good situation in public finance. The genesis of the crisis was also quite similar in these two countries. The similarity of factors influencing the crisis and the pre-crisis high development of both economies were among the reasons for selection of these two countries to be compared. Thus, the article focuses on the outbreak of the crisis and the fiscal consolidation period of 2008-2015, however the pre-crisis analysis is also provided. The debt sustainability analysis carried out in the article shows the possibility of growing out of debt in both countries depending on the macroeconomic circumstances. Both Ireland and Spain have been aiming to achieve a primary surplus. Besides the similarity of pre-crisis conditions, in this respect, the progress was highly noticeable, especially in Ireland, where it resulted from a fiscal consolidation but also a high real GDP dynamics that supported the process. Due to this, Ireland has already managed to lower the debt-to- -GDP ratio and put it on a downward path. Spain, on the contrary, has recorded a high debt-to-GDP ratio which is still on the upward path and is forecasted to continue until 2016.
The present paper concerns a crucial problem of contemporary public finances, that is the public debt. Apart from the definition, the causes and methods of incurring debt , the present paper demonstrates the acceptable limits of being indebted. Furthermore, the paper presents the scale of public debt in the world and the current status of public finances of Spain (one of the most indebted countries).
Article presents an approach to the national security in the National Security Strategy developed in Spain in 2013. Indicates the scope of the strategy, which are strategic objectives, complexity and uniqueness of security risks and threats. These are the basic values, which represent a suffix to the strategic lines of action, and the need to reflect the planning and operational rules. To illustrate this situation the strategy presents the environment of strategy - the surrounding area and the position of Spain - relationships - in the world. Risks and threats characteristics is the basis aim for developing an action plan towards respond to diagnosed risk and threat. Summary strategic actions for security action is to establish a National Security System, which will be executed by the Government.
The paper is focused on the mechanisms and manifestations of Moroccan jihadism in Spain. It analyses how fighting Salafist radicalism from Mahgreb emerged in Spain and how it created challenges and threats for the security of the country. Europe has become one of the key fields of battle in the global war on jihadist terror. Today, in the age of decentralized terrorism, Al‑Qaeda is seen as a symbol of extremism legitimizing the use of violence by religious references. Jihadist ideology inspires the phenomenon of home‑grown terrorism in many European countries. The paper shows the background of the activity of some radical groups and movements in Morocco and then explains the ways it came to Spain. Moroccan jihadists played an increasingly important role in the activity of different Salafist cells in Spain. The article analyses the causes of the bomb attack carried out on 11 March 2004 in Madrid, which constituted an expression of open forms of terrorism, and the forms and factors of jihadist radicalism over the following years. It shows the links of the Moroccan Salafist movement with Islamic immigrant communities in Spain.
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