Javier López Alós, Entre el trono y el escaño. El pensamiento reaccionario español frente a la revolución liberal (1808-1923) (José Luis Villacañas, prólg.): Madrid, Congreso de los Diputados, 2011. 316 pp.

Abstract

The review examines Javier López Alós’s Between the throne and the parliamentary seat, a study of the rationality underlying Spanish reactionary thought during the liberal revolution. It highlights his analysis of the reactionary experience of time, understood as a compensatory response to modern acceleration, human autonomy, and popular sovereignty. Drawing on categories from Weber, Koselleck, Blumenberg, and Schmitt, the book reconstructs the anthropological and political foundations of Catholic counterrevolution. It also explains the rejection of modern freedom and the subordination of the state to ecclesiastical authority. The review praises its historiographical renewal and emphasizes the continuing political influence of this tradition.