European History Quarterly

This article focuses on the key role in Catalonia played in the genesis of the military coup by the captain general of Barcelona, Miguel Primo de Rivera, in September 1923. From 1917 the rise of labour agitation and the radicalization of Catalan nationalism precipitated the formation of a counter-revolutionary coalition between the armed forces and right-wing sectors of Catalan society. Along with the military, the coalition took in, on the one hand, the territory’s business, Catholic, Monarchist and regionalist organizations, and on the other, some working-class elements integrated within the Sindicatos Libres. The former championed what we have termed the ‘Catalan road’ to authoritarianism, calling for the construction of independent Catalan institutions in order to deal with the threat of subversion. However, the coalition proved unstable. Divisions opened up between conservative rightists and the radical rightists of the Sindicatos Libres. Moreover, once Primo de Rivera came to power he reneged on his regionalist pronouncements and put in place a centralizing regime. The ‘Castilian road’ to authoritarianism had triumphed.

Most studies of absolutism, particularly in Piedmont (and more broadly the Savoyard state of which it was part) focus on the emergence of intendants as an agent of the centralizing state. However, this completely ignores the role of the provincial governors. This article therefore looks in closer detail than has been done hitherto, at the role, recruitment, remuneration and social background of the provincial governors of Piedmont as an important but still rather obscure period of Savoyard state formation. Provincial governors were essentially soldiers in a highly militarized state, which was one reason for their prominent role, and they fulfilled many of the absolutist or centralizing functions (monitoring, punishing) usually attributed to other agents of the state. Among their responsibilities was watching over the local nobility. The modus operandi of governors reflected a growing formalization of practice within the Savoyard state. At the same time, however, governors sometimes clashed with the other agents of that state. In terms of remuneration, governors scored much higher than did intendants. Governors were also of more exalted social origin. More work needs to be done on the provincial governors of the early modern Savoyard state but clearly they cannot be ignored as an instrument of that state, or as an indicator that the older elite successfully inserted itself into that structure to its own advantage.

This article analyses the relationship between Orthodoxy and state from the unification of the Principalities of Moldavia and Wallachia in 1859 to the creation of Greater Romania in 1918. Examining the attitudes of political leaders towards the dominant religion, this article argues that during the reigns of Prince Cuza and King Carol I the Church became a state institution closely connected to the development of political regimes. It is suggested that by claiming doctrinal religious connections with Constantinople and independence from foreign intervention in the Church’s affairs, religious and political leaders from 1859 to 1918 amplified the construction of Romanian national mythology which contributed towards the political unity of the state.

This article deals with the relationship between the police and national and local politics in France during the mid-1930s. A new left-wing coalition, the Popular Front, had come to power to try to ward off a perceived fascist threat. This threat was felt very keenly in France because most of the surrounding countries were falling under far right control and France had had its own extreme-right demonstrations in 1934. It was important for the new coalition to be able to dispose of a reliable police force. In Marseille, the police was politically divided particularly between those who considered themselves apolitical and the supporters of the ‘fascist’ Sabiani and the socialist Tasso. The battle-lines were drawn partly on ideological lines but essentially around clientelistic considerations. Undoubtedly the socialists dominated the local force and the Popular Front was thus welcomed by the police rank and file, but not without some of their hopes being frustrated.