Carlism and Spanish political tradition: yesterday and today

Abstract

The article analyzes the evolution of the key ideological concepts of Carlism – a mass social and political movement that arose in Spain in 1833 as a result of the dynastic crisis after the death of King Fernando VII, and led in the 19th century to three intra-national conflicts (“Carlist wars”) between supporters of the liberal bourgeois modernization and the Catholic tradition. The author shows that modern Carlism does not boil down to legitimism as a struggle for the right of the so-called “legitimist dynast” (descendants of Carlos V as the youngest branch of the Spanish Bourbons) to the Spanish throne, but also involves the institutional continuity of old Spain and is the incarnation of traditionalist thought. As a scholar, the author argues that the twentieth century Carlism is a movement for the continuity of the “Catholic monarchy” and the doctrinal development of Catholic traditionalism. As a doctrinaire, the author tries to prove that in the conditions of the crisis of the modern State the slogan of Carlism “God! Motherland! Fueros! King!” retains its relevance not only for modern Spain.

Keywords

• carlism
• traditionalism
• state
• «catholic monarchy»
• modern spain