: Rather than a single event, Payne describes a "progressive collapse" fueled by political violence and the inability of leaders to treat opponents as anything other than enemies to be annihilated. Critical Interpretations
The story of Stanley G. Payne’s work on La primera democracia española (known in English as ) is a scholarly attempt to rescue a pivotal era of Spanish history from the shadow of the cataclysmic Civil War. The Historian’s Quest Stanley G Payne. La primera democracia espanola...
: The Republic began with radical energy, attempting massive reforms in education, military affairs, and church-state relations. : Rather than a single event, Payne describes
: Payne argues that the best chance for a stable regime lay with the center-left and center-right parties, like the Radical Party . However, these moderates were systematically destroyed by the rise of extremists on both ends of the political spectrum. The Historian’s Quest : The Republic began with