Political Science, History, and Dictatorships: Linz’ Limited Pluralism Theory and the Late Francoist Regime in Spain

Abstract

Abstract Although Linz was right in contradicting previous assumptions that the Francoist political community was homogeneous, a truth evidenced in political archival records relating to the 1967 elections of procuradores familiares and reports complied by the Delegación Nacional de Provincias about political hierarchies in preparation for elections in 1975, his concept of limited pluralism is flawed. Traditional historical methods verify the degree of correlation between the analytical description of the Francoist political sphere that Linz’ theory suggests and the actuality represented in the archival sources. The records do not indicate the existence of the politico-ideological or interest groups organized as a semi-opposition to which Linz referred in support of his thesis. Though political leaders were aligned with various ideological affiliations, loyalty to the Caudillo was the basic affinity that united all.