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There has been growing concern about the increase in gender-based violence (GBV) among young people. The aim of this study was to explore the grey zones in GBV alongside gender (masculinities and femininities) discourses in young adults. We used the concept of a "grey zone" as an analytical tool to identify possible contradictory discursive positions where the notions of victims and perpetrators of GBV converge and become ambiguous. We performed a qualitative study based on 20 semi-structured interviews and 4 focus groups (October 2019 to February 2020) in Spain with a sample of 49 cisgender women and men, aged between 18 and 24, some involved in feminist activism and some not. We conducted a sociological analysis of the discourse system. Study findings show how culturally constructed gender norms intervene in the ways in which young people understand and deal with GBV. When asked general questions about GBV, this concept was problematized along with gender assumptions and two discursive positions were identified: the discourse of "men as authors of GBV" and the discourse of "GBV as an individual genderless issue." When vignettes of everyday GBV situations were shown, grey zones became visible when discussing subtle forms of GBV influenced by the myths of romantic love, victim-blaming around sexual violence, digital GBV and bystander men intervention on GBV. In those grey zones, discourses on GBV were articulated around unequal notions of gender that, in turn, served as its justification, reproduction, and normalization. The grey zones identified represent contexts of oppression that illustrate how GBV is systematically reproduced, as well as the ways in which young people can be involved in it, perpetuating power and health inequalities. Our findings provide information as a guide to design GBV interventions and prevention actions that incorporate a focus on gender configurations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The scientific debate regarding populism has been renewed by the rise of extreme right-wing parties in Western Europe. Spain was an exception to the European situation until Vox stormed onto the scene in the Andalusian regional elections in December 2018. By taking into account the definition of populism from Jaager & Walgrave (2007), Mudde (2007), Hawkins (2010), Charaudeau's populist discourse analysis (2009), and the idea of "contamination" by Hernández Carr, 2011 and Van Spanje, 2010, this article presents the results of an analysis regarding the discourse of the tweets published by the candidates of the three right-wing national parties during the electoral campaign in Spain prior to the day of the elections on 28 April 2019. The aim of the study is to reveal whether Abascal's discourse conforms to the parameters of the populist style, and whether there was contamination by Abascal (Vox) of the issues and rhetoric of Pablo Casado (Partido Popular-PP) and Albert Rivera (Ciudadanos-Cs). Firstly, the quantitative analysis shows that Abascal's political discourse on this social network is in line with the discursive strategies of populism; Secondly, the Vox leader behaves differently from the candidates of the PP and Cs. Finally, the influence of Vox's discourse on the other two parties with which he competes on the right-wing ideological spectrum is lower than expected. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study describes the relations between the press and political power, during the Spanish transition to democracy in the late 1970s, focusing on discursive relations between political actors with power or challenging power and the media which interpreted their developments. It analyses how the main media, in the discourse of their news stories and editorials, framed events to construct a 'reality' for the public, aiding or impeding the construction of a democratic public sphere. The study is based on an analysis of journalistic discourse in ABC, La Vanguardia, El País (daily newspapers) and Triunfo (a weekly political magazine) in their coverage of key events in the period between the death of Franco (November 1975) and the approval of the Basque and Catalan statutes (November 1979). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article explores what happens when the term "austerity" becomes a global catchword. Specifically, we study how this term has been used in national policy making in the Portuguese and Spanish parliaments from the 1970s until recently. We show that although Portugal and Spain were in a somewhat different situation regarding the 2008 economic crisis, the increased popularity of the term austerity occurred practically simultaneously in the Portuguese and Spanish parliaments. This suggests that the term's popularity in political debates is not solely determined by a nation's political or fiscal situation. Rather, our contention is that employing the term austerity to discuss government policies became a global fashion after the fiscal crisis of 2008. The study also shows why austerity became an increasingly popular concept: the term changed from being mainly used in fiscal policy to being commonly used in other policy areas too. Related Articles: Exadaktylos, Theofanis, and Nikolaos Zahariadis. 2014. "Quid pro Quo: Political Trust and Policy Implementation in Greece during the Age of Austerity." Politics & Policy 42 (1): 160‐183. https://doi.org/10.1111/polp.12058 Monza, Sabina, and Eva Anduiza. 2016. "The Visibility of the EU in the National Public Spheres in Times of Crisis and Austerity." Politics & Policy 44 (3): 499‐524. https://doi.org/10.1111/polp.12163 Sager, Fritz, and Markus Hinterleitner. 2016. "How do Credit Rating Agencies Rate? An Implementation Perspective on the Assessment of Austerity Programs during the European Debt Crisis." Politics & Policy 44 (4): 783‐815. https://doi.org/10.1111/polp.12165 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Evidence of child abduction for intercountry adoption challenges our notions of altruism. The history of illicit adoptions and child abduction is presented with specific emphasis on Guatemala as a case example. Drawing on data produced in an ethnographic research, the analysis searches to elucidate how those involved in intercountry adoption in Spain (mainly adoptive and prospective adoptive parents) deal with signs of fraud and corruption. The results point out how these discourses usually dismiss the failures of the system and revolve around the idea of rescue. The rights of birth families – and even their mere existence – are usually absent in the discussion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Immigration has consistently been one of the most controversial political topics in many European countries over recent years. Much research has consequently focused on highlighting and describing negative views of immigrants which dominate political debate. This has been particularly the case in studies of Spain. Yet such studies rarely examine positive views of immigration or explain the dominance of some views over others. This article offers a distinct contribution by examining the contested framing of Romanian immigration in Madrid's politics. At the same time that Romanian immigration has increased rapidly to form the largest single nationality population in the country and public opinion has registered specific concerns regarding this nationality, political debate has declared a 'magnificent atmosphere' of coexistence. The article explores why, highlighting the stability of discursive and institutional structures which emphasise values of democracy, equality and tolerance over potentially discriminatory acts and statements. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Spain's organ procurement organization produces national identity discourses. • Its messages highlight Spain's national unity and international legitimacy. • This points at situated nation-building in nations with conflictive histories. • These nations may rely more on unusual sources of national identity. • Reputed actors leap to new discursive fields and may carry built-in interpretations. Spain is the global leader in organ donation and transplantation since 1992, an achievement that has become a source of national pride, in a country where national symbols are heavily contested. In this article I demonstrate that Spain's organ procurement organization is an active producer of national identity discourses oriented to increasing the legitimacy of the Spanish national project and generating affective adherence to the state institutions. Through a qualitative analysis of 43 press releases, 27 media interviews, 3200 tweets, and 35 YouTube videos, I show that the organization reproduces Spain as a frame of reference, redefines the bonds and boundaries of the national community by linking them to the circulation of organs, and attributes positive moral values to Spain's citizenry. It highlights Spain's internal unity, presenting organ procurement as a national enterprise that binds together different social actors and territories in a common project. It also leverages Spain's success in this area to depict the country as a global exemplar comparable to its neighbors in Western and Northern Europe. My study contributes to a better understanding of contemporary Spanish national identity discourses and raises theoretical questions about the role of alternative sources of national identity in countries with histories of conflict around national narratives and symbols. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]