Javier Rodrigo Sanchez

Javier Rodrigo Sanchez is Professor in the Department of Modern and Contemporary History at the University of Barcelona and leads the Research Group in War, Political Radicalism and Social Conflict (GRECS). As Principal Investigator on nine major projects—including the European Commission's SO-CLOSE initiative and the PERPETRATORS study of Francoist violence—he directs transnational research on political conflict and historical memory.

His research centers on Spanish history with emphases on the Civil War, Francoism, and systemic violence. Key interests include fascist movements, gendered experiences of conflict, resistance narratives, and the social construction of historical memory. His interdisciplinary approach bridges political theory, social history, and trauma studies to analyze how violence shapes collective identity across Europe.

Recent publications reveal three critical trends: global comparative frameworks for civil wars, historical roots of contemporary far-right movements, and gendered dimensions of resistance under totalitarian regimes. This work challenges conventional periodization while highlighting transnational connections in political violence and memory politics.

Sanchez has supervised seven graduate theses and secured significant funding for projects like WIRE (Women in Resistance) and VOLGA (violence against women in Spain's anti-guerrilla war). His research group GRECS coordinates collaborations across 15 European institutions, focusing on how historical trauma informs current social cohesion challenges through cultural heritage initiatives.