Overview

During the Spanish Civil War (1936-1939) the British public raised an estimated one to two million pounds for Republican Spain, mostly through small individual donations at a time when large parts of Britain were experiencing severe economic depression. Across the country people were moved by the plight of Spain, a land in which most had never set foot. The response was quintessentially British; through picnics, whist drives, concerts, dances and rambling expeditions, the war in Spain became embedded in British social and cultural life. Innovative fundraising campaigns ran alongside lectures, film screenings and exhibitions, engaging people with the Spanish conflict. But it was a fragile alliance of progressive opinion, for those involved often had very different interpretations of the political significance of the war and of the Republic's fight for a broadly defined concept of democracy. The book provides a fresh perspective on what is a well-trodden area of scholarship. It places British humanitarian responses to Spain within the context of Britain's flourishing civic and popular political culture, following the advent of mass democracy in 1928 as supported by the Equal Franchise Act. Emily Mason explores engagement with Spain through three foci: the peace movement, the co-operative movement and British Christians groups that were at the heart of the humanitarian response, but which remain underexplored in current historiography. The book explores how the Republican cause resonated with notions of British identity and with the crises that different groups perceived to be threatening their world order. It explores the dilemma that non-intervention posed for many Britons, and argues that humanitarian support for the Spanish Republic offers an example of active citizenship and popular internationalism in Britain between the wars. Published in association with the Canada Blanch Centre for Contemporary Spanish Studies.

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9781845199586

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Reviews

"""Democracy, Deeds and Dilemmas is a well-crafted and concise study of 1930s inter-war British society and popular political culture as filtered through the lens of the Spanish Civil War. It does not assess the overall impact of British support on the course of the conflict, but instead provides a fascinating overview of some of the diverse networks of public engagement and activism that existed across Britain during the turbulent 1930s....Appropriately enough, Democracy, Deeds and Dilemmas has appeared in time for Britains Vote 100 commemorations of the 1918 Representation of the People Act. It is also a timely and resonant study in light of present-day activism and debate concerning the meaning and ownership of democracy in the age of Brexit, and of continuing popular discussion about Britains place in European and wider international affairs."" Reviewer: Dr Edward Packard (University of Suffolk)"

Author Information

Emily Mason is visiting researcher at the London School of Economics, Canada Blanch Centre. She teaches modern British history at King's College, London and modern European history at the University of East London.

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