A New International History of the Spanish Civil War

A New International History of the Spanish Civil War. By Michael Alpert. New York: St. Martin, 1997. 209 pages.

The international dimensions of the Spanish Civil War, a subject of scholarly interest in recent years, has taken several different forms. Part of this new scholarship explores diplomatic developments and the supply of weaponry based on previously unexploited archival evidence. Secondly, there have emerged a variety of new firsthand testimonies, such as diaries, letters, memoirs, etc., written mainly by those who went to Spain to fight for "the right cause." Finally, and most innovative, are the approaches that evaluate the role of cultural perceptions, popular reactions, and official propaganda in the diplomatic confrontations related to the war. Michael Alpert's study pioneers this new wave of works on the international repercussions of the Spanish Civil War. While it combines elements from all three of the above-mentioned approaches, it is mainly a work of classic diplomatic history.

The book is divided into three parts following the chronology of the main developments of the conflict. In the first part Alpert studies the reaction of the European powers to Franco's coup...