Defending democracy: the politics of public order in Republican Spain, 1931-1936

The Second Spanish Republic has often been described as «authoritarian» when considering its policies towards protest and public order. This article challenges both the «continuity» and the «authoritarian» arguments by asking new questions, reevaluating deeply-entrenched assumptions, and putting the experience of the Second Spanish Republic in the historical context of Interwar Europe. It will argue that despite some of the seemingly non-democratic measures taken in defence of democracy, these were temporary, pragmatic responses meant to combat what were seen as immediate threats, and not indicative of a fundamental lack of intention to democratize the Spanish State and Spanish society.