This is a study of the Spanish Labour Movement in Barcelona from 1939 to 1988, with particular emphasis on the period between 1962 and 1976. It explains how the movement, so long the scourge of the Franco regime, became the poor relation of the new democracy it had helped to create. From this emerges a wide-ranging investigation of working-class life and culture, labour relations, and politics in an authoritarian regime.
Balfour subtly interweaves all aspects of working-class experience, from architecture to accident benefits. The book thus successfully unravels one of the chief paradoxes of the transition from dictatorship to democracy in Spain, and also casts light on the broader issues of labour history in general, and the nature of modern authoritarian regimes.
Dr Balfour uses the archives of Franco's secret police, untouched since the dictator's death, and provides a unique insight into the inner workings of the dictatorship. Review: 'splendid study ... Dr Balfour's elegantly written account provides a clear and compelling analysis ... More than that, through the imaginative use of sources ...
Dr Balfour has produced a study which illuminates our understanding of contemporary Spain. Its relevance stretches far beyond the boundaries of Greater Barcelona.' Paul Heywood, Times Higher Education Supplement 'original and provocative' Nigel Townson, New Statesman 'Balfour's is a genuinely exciting achievement ... one of the finest mongraphs to have appeared on any aspect of Spain under Franco, and for that matter one of the most distinguished pieces of Spanish urban and labour history yet published on any period.
One of the many fascinating features of Dictatorship, Workers, and the City, perhaps that which provokes most thought is Balfour's consideration of the legacy of the Francoist experience for the Catalan and wider Spanish labour movements.' Martin Blinkhorn, European History Quarterly 'path-breaking and lucid account ...
Balfour's splendid account vividly portrays the ups and downs of working-class life and activity in Greater Barcelona during the last half century. It deserves to be widely read.' Joseph Harrison, University of Manchester, Business History 'Meticulously researched and accessible study.' Tom Gallagher, Social History 'This is, quite simply, one of the finest monographs to have appeared on any aspect of Spain under Franco, and for that matter one of the most distinguished pieces of Spanish urban and labour history yet published on any period.' European History Quarterly 'the book constitutes an impressive achievement, in research, argument and presentation.
It must surely be essential reading for English-speaking political and social historians of contemporary urban Spain; and the rest of us will also find it stimulating and informative. It deserves a wide audience.' John K. Walton, University of Lancaster, Urban History Yearbook 1990 'This is the most important and perceptive account of the changing patterns of labor unrest under Francoism.
It is an indispensable work for understanding the history of the regime and its opponents. Scrupulously reserched, it is based on a minute examination of the existing - partisan - literature and extensive interviews.' Journal of Modern History, Volume 66, Number 4, December 1994
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