Conclusion

The Conclusion highlights some of the text’s main arguments. These include the importance of the discourse of the dangerous parent and superior state guardianship in paving the way to the age of mass child removal. The juvenile courts are shown to sit centre stage in this history. The Spanish case helps reveal the transnational origins of these courts. It also sheds light on the political agreement and conflict that underpinned the creation and operation of the courts. The documentary record left by the courts reveals much about the processes behind removal and helps us move away from the binary of coercion and victimhood which frequently characterizes discussion of removals. By exploring these processes we can recognize the suffering, agency and resilience of poor families, displaced families and political families. This approach provides a more complex context for understanding the debate around ‘lost children of Francoism’ and child removal more widely.