If there is a moment in which universal history passes through Spain, it is the Spanish Civil War of 1936–39. Similarly, twentieth-century European history is incomprehensible without the Spanish war. This handbook represents an ambitious, detailed and up-to-date perspective of the conflict. The Spanish war was not merely a civil war, but a transnational, global one. The seizure of power by fascism through war, the use of violence against civilians for the purpose of purging society, the establishment of concentration camps, and the overlap between the war of occupation and irregular warfare would all turn Spain into a sounding board and a testing ground for processes that would later spread across the continent. Bringing together both established scholars and many younger researchers, the chapters of this book address topics such as the militarisation, internationalisation and radicalisation of the conflict, the home front, issues of identity, exile, healthcare, the landscape and environment, and necropolitics. The Routledge Handbook of the Spanish Civil War will be an excellent university textbook for undergraduate and graduate students alike, as well as a basic reference for researchers of Spanish Civil War and the field of war studies more broadly.
