Transnational Communism During the Cold War : The Spanish Communists and their European Networks

This book offers a bold reassessment of the Spanish Communist Party (PCE) as an important actor in Cold War-era transnational communist networks. This volume situates the PCE within a complex web of ideological, political, and economic relationships with key communist regimes and Western European communist parties.

Transnational Communism During the Cold War offers a bold and innovative reassessment of the Spanish Communist Party (PCE) as an important actor in Cold War-era transnational communist networks. Moving beyond conventional national narratives, this volume situates the PCE within a complex web of ideological, political, and economic relationships with key communist regimes—including the USSR, East Germany, Poland, and Yugoslavia—and Western European communist parties, revealing how global alliances shaped the contours of anti-Francoist resistance and the internationalisation of Spanish political exile. Bringing together leading scholars, it explores the PCE’s foundational role in the emergence of Eurocommunism and its challenge to Soviet hegemony from 1968 onward. It uncovers the informal networks born from internal party divisions, the international solidarity received by the PCE, and the often-overlooked contributions of women in transnational campaigns. Rich case studies illuminate the ideological exchanges, cultural diplomacy, and economic cooperation that defined communist internationalism. Interdisciplinary in scope and grounded in archival research, Transnational Communism During the Cold War offers a fresh interpretive framework for understanding the global dimensions of Cold War communism. Essential reading for historians of European politics, international leftist movements, and transnational activism, it redefines Spain’s place within the broader currents of twentieth-century political history.