The transition to democracy in Spain (1975-1982) after forty years of Franco’s dictatorship has fascinated all those interested in understanding the transformation of a country that has managed, in a relatively short period of time, to go from an authoritarian regime to a democracy comparable to the rest of the democratic countries around it.

In fact, the Spanish case became known as “the Spanish miracle” or “the Spanish model”, which could serve as an example for other transitions in Latin America, Asia, or Eastern Europe. However, in recent years, criticism of this model (known as the “agreed rupture”) has been growing in Spain, especially among younger people who did not live through the Transition. For many of them, the so-called “78 Regime” is the cause of the main democratic deficits in Spain today.

In this talk we will try to explore the current debates surrounding the Spanish Transition and its international impact and we will address the different interpretations that its analysis raises even today, 50 years later. Finally, this case will allow us to also reflect on what is happening with democracy all over the world today.