On December 20, Spain will hold national elections to determine the new prime minister and national and local parliaments. These elections will be another crossroads in the long history of Spain. The elections come about in a political and social atmosphere of ‘change’ and ‘regeneration,’ marked by the rise of two new political parties, Podemos and Ciudanos. These parties are the new forces in the political scene in Spain. This atmosphere of change is the result of the 2008 economic crisis. The economic crisis of 2008 was not only an economic crisis in Spain, but it provoked a political and social crisis. It became a crisis of Spanish post-modernity. The crisis of 2008 revealed the inherent weaknesses, fallacies, and illusions of Spanish modernity, a product of Francisco Franco’s regime of 36 years. People in Spain are now demanding change in politics due to austerity measures, lack of jobs, decrease in wages, corruption, and political incompetence. This leads to the question of, what is the power structure in Spain? The State? The nation? The economy? In this thesis, I explore a continuation of elite power through the state and how it produces a society of crisis, injustice, and inequality. Furthermore, it produces subjectivities and life itself. I use critical theory and an historical perspective to provide an analysis of the current situation in Spain.
","abstract_html":"<p>On December 20, Spain will hold national elections to determine the new prime minister and national and local parliaments. These elections will be another crossroads in the long history of Spain. The elections come about in a political and social atmosphere of ‘change’ and ‘regeneration,’ marked by the rise of two new political parties, Podemos and Ciudanos. These parties are the new forces in the political scene in Spain. This atmosphere of change is the result of the 2008 economic crisis. The economic crisis of 2008 was not only an economic crisis in Spain, but it provoked a political and social crisis. It became a crisis of Spanish post-modernity. The crisis of 2008 revealed the inherent weaknesses, fallacies, and illusions of Spanish modernity, a product of Francisco Franco’s regime of 36 years. People in Spain are now demanding change in politics due to austerity measures, lack of jobs, decrease in wages, corruption, and political incompetence. This leads to the question of, what is the power structure in Spain? The State? The nation? The economy? In this thesis, I explore a continuation of elite power through the state and how it produces a society of crisis, injustice, and inequality. Furthermore, it produces subjectivities and life itself. I use critical theory and an historical perspective to provide an analysis of the current situation in Spain.</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Mason, Matthew"],"institution":null,"degree_name":"Master of Arts in International Studies (MAIS)","degree_level":"Thesis","degree_discipline":"International Studies","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Lucia Cantero"],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2015,"date_issued":"2015-12-18T08:00:00Z","date_published":"2015-12-18T08:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T05:43:24Z","subjects":["Power","Spain","Fascism","Economy","Subjectivity","Life","Biopolitics","History","Human Ecology","Inequality and Stratification","Other International and Area Studies","Other Political Science","Political Theory","Politics and Social Change","Regional Sociology","Social Control, Law, Crime, and Deviance","Theory, Knowledge and Science","Work, Economy and Organizations"],"languages":[],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://repository.usfca.edu/thes/158","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Lucia Cantero"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Mason, Matthew"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2015-12-27T08:00:00Z"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["International Studies"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Thesis"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Master of Arts in International Studies (MAIS)"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["Power","Spain","Fascism","Economy","Subjectivity","Life","Biopolitics","History","Human Ecology","Inequality and Stratification","Other International and Area Studies","Other Political Science","Political Theory","Politics and Social Change","Regional Sociology","Social Control, Law, Crime, and Deviance","Theory, Knowledge and Science","Work, Economy and Organizations"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://repository.usfca.edu/thes/158"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["On December 20, Spain will hold national elections to determine the new prime minister and national and local parliaments. These elections will be another crossroads in the long history of Spain. The elections come about in a political and social atmosphere of ‘change’ and ‘regeneration,’ marked by the rise of two new political parties, Podemos and Ciudanos. These parties are the new forces in the political scene in Spain. This atmosphere of change is the result of the 2008 economic crisis. The economic crisis of 2008 was not only an economic crisis in Spain, but it provoked a political and social crisis. It became a crisis of Spanish post-modernity. The crisis of 2008 revealed the inherent weaknesses, fallacies, and illusions of Spanish modernity, a product of Francisco Franco’s regime of 36 years. People in Spain are now demanding change in politics due to austerity measures, lack of jobs, decrease in wages, corruption, and political incompetence. This leads to the question of, what is the power structure in Spain? The State? The nation? The economy? In this thesis, I explore a continuation of elite power through the state and how it produces a society of crisis, injustice, and inequality. Furthermore, it produces subjectivities and life itself. I use critical theory and an historical perspective to provide an analysis of the current situation in Spain.
"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Power, Subjectivity, and Life in Spain: A Continuation of Elite Power"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["Lucia Cantero"],"dc:creator":["Mason, Matthew"],"dc:date.available":["2015-12-27T08:00:00Z"],"dc:description.abstract":["On December 20, Spain will hold national elections to determine the new prime minister and national and local parliaments. These elections will be another crossroads in the long history of Spain. The elections come about in a political and social atmosphere of ‘change’ and ‘regeneration,’ marked by the rise of two new political parties, Podemos and Ciudanos. These parties are the new forces in the political scene in Spain. This atmosphere of change is the result of the 2008 economic crisis. The economic crisis of 2008 was not only an economic crisis in Spain, but it provoked a political and social crisis. It became a crisis of Spanish post-modernity. The crisis of 2008 revealed the inherent weaknesses, fallacies, and illusions of Spanish modernity, a product of Francisco Franco’s regime of 36 years. People in Spain are now demanding change in politics due to austerity measures, lack of jobs, decrease in wages, corruption, and political incompetence. This leads to the question of, what is the power structure in Spain? The State? The nation? The economy? In this thesis, I explore a continuation of elite power through the state and how it produces a society of crisis, injustice, and inequality. Furthermore, it produces subjectivities and life itself. I use critical theory and an historical perspective to provide an analysis of the current situation in Spain.
"],"dc:identifier":["https://repository.usfca.edu/thes/158"],"dc:subject":["Power","Spain","Fascism","Economy","Subjectivity","Life","Biopolitics","History","Human Ecology","Inequality and Stratification","Other International and Area Studies","Other Political Science","Political Theory","Politics and Social Change","Regional Sociology","Social Control, Law, Crime, and Deviance","Theory, Knowledge and Science","Work, Economy and Organizations"],"dc:title":["Power, Subjectivity, and Life in Spain: A Continuation of Elite Power"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["International Studies"],"thesis:degree_level":["Thesis"],"thesis:degree_name":["Master of Arts in International Studies (MAIS)"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T05:43:24Z"}