Kerstin Hamann is Professor of Political Science at the University of Central Florida. Her books include Parties, Elections, and Policy Reforms in Western Europe: Voting for Social Pacts (with John Kelly), Democracy and Institutional Development: Spain in Comparative Theoretical Perspective (with Bonnie N. Field), and Assessment in Political Science (with Michelle Deardorff and John Ishiyama).

The book provides a comprehensive analysis of Spanish unions since the Franco dictatorship. It builds on industrial relations, political science, and political economy literature to investigate the trajectory of Spanish unions. It analyzes unions as political actors, that is, their interaction and involvement with governments, political parties, and political processes.

1. Introduction: The Puzzle of Spanish Unions - A Framework for Analysis 2. Workers, the State, and Labor Relations under the Franco Regime 3. Unions and the Politics of Institution Building during the Transition to Democracy 4. Unions, Parties, and Industrial Relations during the Consolidation of Democracy 5. The Politics of Economic Adjustment under González' Socialist Government 6. Socialist Policies, Union Decline, and Renewal Strategies 7. Labor Unions and Aznar's Popular Government: Regaining a Political Voice? 8. Unions and Zapatero's Socialist Government: Cooperation and Confrontation 9. Conclusion: Unions, Industrial Relations, and Politics in Spain