Democrtatic Consolidation and the Depoliticization of the Military in Spain: Implications of the Case of the South Korea

Spain is one of the few countries that have successfully consolidated democracy. The task of consolidation has, however, formidable, for Spain has lacked a political tradition of toleration as well as an institutional mechanism of consensus building. The Spain history abounded with coups and civil wars: Franco had also left a repressive regime whose taming was vital for assuring a smooth transition toward civilian politics. In response, the heterogeneous democratic forces signed a Moncloa Pact of 1977 and opted for a consensual drawing of Spain's new constitution. They relied on the force of example and economic encouragement to consolidate the pluralist form of political organization, and defended their internal unity aganist centrifugal forces by emphasizing pacts and compromises. The taming of Spain's military occured within such a broad political strategy of consensus building. The new regime was careful not to alienate the moderates within the military and presided over a concerted effort to win the loyalty of the army as an institution. Salaries were raised: equipments were modernizied: and Spain's participation in Europe-wide military exercises were promoted. The new regime also pushed for a merger of the military hierarches and branches: it drew a sharper distinction between the civilian and military spheres of life as well. Defended as measures to enhance the professionalism of the military, the reforms had an objective of consolidating the civilian control over the military. The democratic consolidation in Spain was, in short, based on a political strategy that consciously tried to reduce the fears which the military harboured aganist the democratic regime by making the political reforms to serve the institutional interests of the military as a whole