Factionalism, the left and the transition to democracy in Spain

The experience of the Spanish left during the transition to democracy contains one case (the Spanish Communist Party) in which factionalism was tremendously damaging and another (the Spanish Socialist Workers’ Party) in which it had some positive features, facilitating a process of socialist unification. Sources of factionalism included collaboration with the Suárez government, ideological redefinition, centre‐periphery cleavages, international contro versies, organizational changes, and generational tensions exacerbated by rapid party growth. The outcome of factional conflict was influenced by four factors: the overall politicai context, together with perceptions of party prospects; membership of party families; the specific nature of internal political disputes; and the effective‐ness of party management, itself influenced by the strategies adopted by party leaders when faced with dissent. Socialist leader Felipe González dealt with factional challenges better than did his Communist counterpart, Santiago Carrillo, by waging a political battle before consolidating his victory with the help of more authoritarian methods.