Notes, summaries, assignments, exams, and problems for Social sciences

Causes of the Roman Republic's Collapse

• The Challenge of Imperial Expansion: Following the Mediterranean expansion in 146 BC, Rome struggled to adapt city-state institutions to imperial demands, leading to unemployment, poverty, and agricultural crises.
• Neglect of Subjects: The welfare of provincial subjects was ignored, while provincial governance deteriorated due to exploitation by governors, tax collectors, and soldiers.
• Erosion of Civic Virtue: Traditional values—loyalty, civic spirit, and social harmony—declined after the threats from Carthage and Macedonia were neutralized.
• Social Fragmentation: Competition for status and wealth replaced civic patriotism, leading to the deterioration of social cooperation.
• Internal Conflict: The desire

The Structure of the Francoist State

Organic Democracy: The Basis of the New Regime

For the construction of the new State, the basis was the Italian corporatist state, which organized popular participation according to the family, the municipality, and the union. This new system was called Organic Democracy.

Popular representation in state institutions was regulated by the Constitutive Act of the Parliament, which designated the Cortes as the "highest organ of the Spanish people's participation in the work of the State." Its representatives were appointed by the ruling power.

The Role and Limitations of the Cortes

From the Organic Law of 1966, attorneys emerged, known as the "third family," who were elected by vote by the heads of households. However,... Continue reading "Francoist Spain: Organic Democracy and Post-War Repression" »

Major International Organizations

World Bank (WB)

The World Bank is one of the specialized agencies of the United Nations. It is defined as a source of financial and technical assistance for developing countries.

International Monetary Fund (IMF)

The IMF's statutes state its main objectives as the promotion of sustainable exchange rate policies at the international level, facilitating international trade, and reducing poverty.

Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)

The OECD is an organization for international cooperation composed of 30 states. It aims to coordinate their economic and social policies. It was founded in 1960 and is headquartered in Paris, France.

United Nations (UN)

The UN is a global association of governments... Continue reading "Key Definitions of International Organizations and European Treaties" »

The Constitutional Period (1931)

The Provisional Government agreed to convene Constituent Cortes. In those months, Manuel Azaña, Marcelino Domingo, and Francisco Largo Caballero drafted the first decrees concerning the military, rural areas, and culture. The first conflict arose early: on May 11 and 12, 1931, convents were burned in Madrid and other cities. This incident, coupled with the curtailment of the Church's privileges, deeply incensed important sectors of Catholics and created the conditions for the bishops to move into legal opposition (evidenced by the expulsion of Cardinal Segura and the Church's support for groups like CEDA, Acción Nacional, from 1933 onwards).

The June 1931 elections were held with great civility, with a 70% turnout.... Continue reading "Second Spanish Republic: Constitutional & Reformist Eras" »

Paternalism in Francoist Spain

Paternalism in Francoist society, from a regenerationist perspective, aimed to improve the social situation of the Spanish people. To this end, a system of measures was designed as the start of social security and, in some areas, a scheme called Social Justice. This is evident in the measures proposed in the attempt to create the Social Security Act, which considered the concerns of the Spanish people as individuals, preceding earlier measures. Additionally, the Laws of the Jurisdiction of Work demonstrated that the regime granted greater liberalism to the Spanish people, offering them more favorable treatment in their relationships with entrepreneurs and in common freedoms.

The Stage of Stabilization and Economic

España en el siglo XIX

En el siglo XIX las guerras de independencia en las colonias de ultramar tuvieron lugar con gran intensidad. Con solo la mitad del reinado de Fernando VII se producen hechos decisivos y la situación política desemboca finalmente en la revolución de 1868 y el exilio de Isabel II. Fernando VII imprimió a la política una orientación absolutista; después irrumpieron los liberales. Hasta la muerte de Fernando VII el poder absolutista se mantuvo, y a su fallecimiento volvió a abrirse el conflicto sobre la forma de gobierno.

Los partidarios de Isabel disputaron el trono y, durante largo tiempo, se generaron conflictos internos. El enfrentamiento entre liberales y tradicionalistas dio lugar a las guerras carlistas. Estas... Continue reading "España en el siglo XIX: guerras, reformas y cambios" »

Arnold's Concept of Disinterestedness

Matthew Arnold used the word disinterestedness with positive connotations. For Arnold, being 'interested' meant being socially or politically motivated, potentially creating an ideology. Literature was often criticized, he felt, because the 'interested' critic evaluated a work based not on its artistic values but on its political, social, and economic features.

The disinterested critic, in contrast, is not influenced by the practical affairs of everyday life; the critic is immune to external pressures. For Arnold, disinterestedness equates to objectivity. This type of criticism characterized the New Critics of the first half of the 20th century in Europe and the USA.

Arnold criticized publications like the... Continue reading "Matthew Arnold's Critical Concepts: Disinterestedness and Touchstones" »

Norman Marcher Lords

By 1200, only the tribes in the North remained unconquered. The Marcher Lords enjoyed as much power as the Welsh kings had: they were largely autonomous. They could build castles without the king’s permission, and royal jurisdiction was limited to high treason.

• Three kings/princes remained in Welsh Wales until the 13th century.
• Introduction of parish and diocese organization: bishops (some of whom swore fealty to Canterbury, while others refused).
• 1275: Prince Llywelyn’s hegemony and title in Wales were acknowledged by treaty in 1267.
• Defeated by Edward I in 1284.
• Statute of Wales (1284): County organization.
• Edward II: The first English Prince of Wales (1301).
• Note that three Welsh leaders claimed the same title in the medieval

The "Black Biennium" and Radical-CEDA Government (1933-1935)

In the first half of 1933, conservative forces gained ground, aiming for the government to resolve the Republic's contradictions. In the elections of that year, center-right parties achieved victory. A government was formed by the Radical Republican Party, headed by Alejandro Lerroux, with parliamentary support from the CEDA (Spanish Confederation of Autonomous Rights).

Although the CEDA had been the winning party in the elections, it had not achieved an absolute majority. President Niceto Alcalá Zamora doubted the CEDA's loyalty to the republican regime and thus tasked Lerroux with forming the government.

During this biennium, many reforms from previous years were suspended. This led... Continue reading "Spain's Second Republic: Political Crises and Civil War Genesis" »

Origins of the Spanish Labor Movement

This first association moved between the forbidden and tolerated. Politically, part of the labor movement supported Democratic Republicanism; these supporters later left to join internationalism and form their own class organizations. The Sexenio Democrático recognized the right of assembly and association, which allowed these groups to emerge from hiding and form their own class organizations.

The First International and Ideological Spread

The First International (AIT) arrived in Spain with leading anarchist principles; Bakuninism spread among the Catalan workers and peasants in Andalusia. The spread of Marxism occurred later; although its ideological weight was greater in the AIT, it only succeeded in Madrid.... Continue reading "Spanish Labor Movement: Anarchism and Marxism Evolution" »