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This paper analyzes the use of Twitter by the candidates for the presidency of the Government of Spain of the five main parties at the national level -PSOE, PP, Vox, Podemos and Ciudadanos- of the general elections campaigns held in April and November 2019. The main purpose of our study is to determine the strategies used of the microblogging network by the leaders, both in terms of activity, interaction and notoriety and in terms of topics and discursive development, as well as their similarities and differences. The secondary objective is to study the evolution of these strategies both between the two campaigns and with respect to previous elections. To this end, the research is based on a content analysis methodology that studies quantitative, qualitative and discursive elements. The results reveal an uneven use of Twitter in terms of the frequency of updates, but similar in terms of its unidirectionality, with scarce interaction with other users and a predominance of tweets with their own content over retweets. The dissemination of other people's content was used almost entirely to promote the candidate's political party and, to a lesser extent, to interact with journalists. Dialogue with citizens was almost always residual, both in retweets and in responses. This utilitarian conception of the microblogging network was accompanied by a polarizing thematic selection, with an almost general preponderance of political issues over policy issues. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper shows the results of the research project 08/20 of the University of the Basque Country about the news published in the front pages of the basque newspapers in the years 1996, 2001 and 2006. The researchers have analyzed the front pages of the basque press to determine if they match the demands and interests of their readers. This study also shows which are the most important topics for this newspapers. This research analyzes 2.448 front pages of the main 5 basque newspapers, with a total 19.156 news items. For this work, a specific methodology has been developed, for either a quantitative and qualitative analysis. The data shown in this paper are a briefing of the more accurate results of the research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explains the political thought of Alfonso Fernández de Madrigal, known as "El Tostado", in his De optima politia. This little work offers some reflections on the political community, on the city considered as centre of civic and political activity, and on the best possible forms of government, as well as criticism of some platonic elements such as the communism of wives, and the position and value of the family. He introduces Aristotle as his source and principal philosophical inspiration in pre-humanist Spain, and in the academic environment of the first half of the 15th century. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper focuses on analysis of public opinion towards European integration in Greece, Portugal and Spain, countries known for their positive attitudes toward integration. In particular, the article analyses how public attitudes towards Europe have been formed in these countries. Secondly, it examines the determining factors of citizens' positive attitudes toward integration and shows the types of variables that are essential to understanding the differences between Greeks, Spaniards and the Portuguese. It also examines traditional euro-optimism in these southern countries. The findings show the relevance of identity and the various impacts of party platforms and ideology in attitudes of support for European integration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper intends to shed new light on the causes of split-ticket voting in concurrent multi-level national and regional elections held under PR electoral rules. Up to now, differences in electoral outcomes in Spanish concurrent elections have been understood as a product of the mechanisms associated with second order elections. Evidence against this interpretation is presented, and alternative explanations from the international literature are tested. We find that, on one hand, Andalusian intrablock and regionalist ticket-splitters weigh their national and regional electoral choices differently: While in the national arena ideology is the main predictor of electoral behavior, at the regional level ticket-splitters tend to cross ideological lines and vote based on the performance of regional politicians or a preference for local leaders. On the other hand, interblock ticket-splitters seem to balance their votes ideologically. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the evolution of women's presence in both chambers of Spanish Parliament —Congress and Senate— during the last three decades, as well as in the European Parliament since 1986. The patterns of transformation in female representation are then compared with a) other lower houses in the rest of the EU countries, b) Spanish regional parliaments and c) other levels of political power such as national, regional and local governments. Further, the question of gender in political parties is raised. Finally, we identify the main socio-demographic differences and similarities that characterize female MPs and Senators in comparison to their male counterparts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]