| Description |
Democratic backsliding in favor of right-wing authoritarianism has been a severe concern of historians and political scientists across the world, including in states such as the United States of America and Israel among others. Both of these fields of study can look to the past where democracy had died and been supplanted by authoritarian right-wing policies previously to determine what could potentially happen and what could be avoided. One area of significant interest, in large part because of the regime's longevity, is Francoist Spain, lasting from 1939 until 1975. Francisco Franco of the Spanish Nationalist faction violently overthrew and supplanted the democratically elected Republican Spanish government. Franco's regime instituted "horrifically repressive" anti-democratic measures in a period that persisted from the Nationalist victory in 1939 until Franco's death in 1975. Ultimately, the examination of the extent to which reactionary illiberal populism fueled the surge of fascism and the fall of democracy in Republican Spain from the period of 1930-1940 can help determine a reason why democracy fell and what factors caused that collapse. In this instance, through the use of illiberal and populist rhetoric focusing on sentiments of Catholic Nationalism and Martial populism, the conservative wings of the Spanish republic destroyed the Spanish republic in 1939. Ultimately, efforts to found democracies through cooperative foundational pacts, alleviating economic inequality, and securing international support can serve to mitigate this destructive rhetoric and preserve democratic institutions. |
