Revealing New Truths about Spain's Violent Past: Perpetrators' Confessions and Victim Exhumations (St Antony's Series)

"The foundation of a stable democracy in Spain was built on a settled account: an agreement that both sides were equally guilty of violence, a consensus to avoid contention, and a pact of oblivion as the pathway to peace and democracy. That foundation is beginning to crack as perpetrators' confessions upset the silence and exhumations of mass graves unbury new truths. It has become possible, even if not completely socially acceptable, to speak openly about the past, to disclose the testimonies of the victims, and to ask for truth and justice. Contentious coexistence that put political participation, contestation, and expression in practice has begun to emerge. This book analyzes how this recent transformation has occurred. It recognizes that political processes are not always linear and inexorable. Thus, it remains to be seen how far contentious coexistence will go in Spain."-- Provided by publisher Annotation The foundation of a stable democracy in Spain was built on a settled account: an agreement that both sides were equally guilty of violence, a consensus to avoid contention, and a pact of oblivion as the pathway to peace and democracy. That foundation is beginning to crack as perpetrators' confessions upset the silence and exhumations of mass graves unbury new truths. It has become possible, even if not completely socially acceptable, to speak openly about the past, to disclose the testimonies of the victims, and to ask for truth and justice. Contentious coexistence that put political participation, contestation, and expression in practice has begun to emerge. This book analyzes how this recent transformation has occurred Front Matter....Pages i-xi Introduction....Pages 1-22 Unsettling Accounts....Pages 23-33 Heroic Historic Confessions....Pages 35-42 Few, Fleeting, and Fugitive Confessions....Pages 43-56 Unsettling the Balance....Pages 57-66 Preposterous Denial....Pages 67-74 Unsettling Bones as Unsettling Accounts....Pages 75-87 Conclusion....Pages 89-93 Back Matter....Pages 95-110