Spain as an International Power

Abstract

Spain’s emergence as an international power is of very recent origin. It was only after democracy had been securely established that Spanish leaders were really able to confront the issue of defining an international profile. Under the dictatorship, Spain’s foreign policy had been subordinated to the domestic demands of the regime, leading to a lack of any overall coherence. The main purpose of Franco’s foreign policy was simply to secure international recognition in order to bolster his hold on power (Armero, 1978; Espadas Burgos, 1988). Franco’s attempts to escape isolation did see some successes: the Concordat with the Vatican and the military pacts with the USA in 1953, membership of the United Nations in 1955, and in 1970 a preferential trade agreement with the European Community (EC). However, the nature of his regime denied Franco a significant voice in international affairs and, by 1975, even these meagre achievements were under threat. The return to repression which marked the dictatorship’s last years severely compromised Spain’s international standing and saw a serious deterioration in relations with Europe, the USA and the Vatican.