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JULIO PONCE ALBERCA In his eyes, Spain lacked more than direction — its insides were actually those of an invertebrate organism”. In its most extreme manifestation, this corporatism led to the establishment of the so-called Juntas de Defensa (created in 1916 and legalized the following year) by mainland officers, wary of the quick merit-based promotions being earned by officers in Morocco, in defense of their living standards". This was the grim situation of the state in a country which had lost its empire in the nineteenth century and could only fitfully stage a recolonization campaign in Northern Morocco. The open outbreak of hostilities against the Riffian Berbers in 1909 was not settled until 1925, after the Alhucemas landing. In the meantime, Restoration politics and politicians (1876-1923) proved incapable of transforming Spain into a modern nation. The obstacles were too many — institutional corruption, the deliberate rotation in power of the two dynastic parties (Liberal and Conservative), frequent military defeats in the seemingly never ending war in Morocco, the constant interference of the king in the political arena, and so on. Viable solutions were few and far between, establishment parties showing little ability to design appropriate policies amidst opposition from a Left openly espousing a Republican ideal and a Right increasingly looking to the army and a possible military coup as a praetorianist solution to the crisis’. It is worth asking just how Spaniards felt about the situation and what the attitude of civil society was regarding the state. Any attempt to answer such questions must first note that Spanish society was in no way characterized by generalized or sustained mobilization against the functioning of the state. There were, to be sure, protests and demonstrations, and these were in fact frequent at certain specific times, but overall the system managed to stay in place for years. Further, the relationship between society and the state in Spain was not very different from that which could be observed in surrounding countries (e.g., Italy or Portugal). Finally, many Spaniards took part in the Restoration system, in its electoral manipulation and systemic irregularities — indeed, the same people who railed against corruption often remained eloquently silent when they were on the receiving end of political favours. The weakness of Spanish civil society as a national unit is more readily understood in light of the above. While it is true that both Republicanism 13 There are numerous editions of Ortega’s books. Invertebrate Spain was first published in Spanish in 1922. We quote here the first edition published in the US: José Ortega y Gasset: Invertebrate Spain, New York, Norton, 1937. 4° Ana Isabel Alonso Ibafiez: Las Juntas de Defensa militares (1917-1922), Madrid, Ministerio de Defensa, 2004. For a general review of the period, see: Javier Moreno Luzon: Political Clientelism, Elites, and Caciquismo in Restoration Spain (1875-1923), European History Quarterly, Vol. 37, 2007, 417-441. 82.
