Spanish High-Speed Rail: Infrastructural Development and Dominance Without Hegemony

This article addresses the development of Europe’s foremost high-speed rail (HSR) network, the Spanish AVE (Alta Velocidad Española-Spanish High-Speed Rail). Against the prevalent description of AVE as a project rooted in the consent of the subject population, I argue that it is better understood as a case of dominance without hegemony. I substantiate this claim by turning to two different moments in the history of AVE: its adoption as part of a broader transformation of the transport market; and the struggle against HSR in the Basque Country.