PAUL M. HEYWOOD is Dean of the Faculty of Social Sciences and Sir Francis Hill Professor of European Politics, University of Nottingham, UK.

'Remarkable, well accomplished and up-to-date...a book that manages to keep the attention of the reader from the first page to the last...It gives a complete and comprehensive synthesis of the evolution of Spanish politics and government since the restoration of democracy. And it does so in style.' - Andres Rodriguez-Pose, Government and Policy 'An accessible study for 'all students of modern Spain', yet one whose scholarship will also benefit and provoke discussion among experts...The author has such a compendious grasp of detail and is so skilled in marshalling arguments that one can feel challenged to weigh carefully almost every line before proceeding to the next.' - M. Gorman, Journal of Iberian Studies

• AcknowledgementsIntroductionAnalysing Spanish Politics PART 1. THE LEGACY OF HISTORYReconciling State and NationThe Politics of Regional Diversity The 1978 Constitutional SettlementThe Institutional Legacy of FrancoismPART 2. THE CONSTRUCTION OF A DEMOCRATIC STATECentral GovernmentMonarchy, Core Executive and ParliamentThe Judiciary and the 'State of Law' The Public SectorReform and Renewal The Autonomous CommunitiesThe Electoral and Party Systems Political PartiesDevalued Defenders of DemocracyPART 3. THE EMERGENCE OF A MODERN DEMOCRATIC POWER Economic ModernisationThe Policy Process Spain as an International PowerAppendicesBibliography.