Blind Spots in a Long Process of Disarmament: The Case of Spain, 1876–1936

The paper examines the evolution and social impact of Spanish arms control policies (both in terms of disarmament and selective rearmament of parts of the civilian population) during three crucial periods marked by civil unrest and social and labour conflicts: the years following the end of the civil wars of the mid-19th century, from 1876 onwards; the so-called Pistolerismo crisis and the brutal social unrest that hit the country between 1917 and 1923; the final phase of the Second Republic and the months leading up to the Spanish Civil War. Spain is a very interesting case study in the history of gun control, as it was one of the first modern European countries to introduce gun licences to control access to firearms. However, this did not lead to a reduction in intra-personal and political violence. In Spain, gun control was characterised by a dual system of generalised gun licensing, accompanied by relaxed selective arming of the more trusted sectors of society. In both cases, political discretion and social and political considerations played an important role in determining who was considered legitimate to be armed and who was not. By focusing on three periods of severe social unrest and post-war political reconstruction, the paper offers a long-term perspective on the transformations of state arms control policies and makes the study of gun control a powerful interpretive tool for understanding the inherent causes and nature of the high levels of political violence that characterised this period of Spanish history. The contribution also sheds light on crucial phenomena such as political legitimation, the implementation of the rule of law, the evolution of the alleged state monopoly on violence, the crisis of liberal institutions and the emergence of authoritarian projects in Spanish history between 1876 and 1936.