Part I: Almost Annihilated
Chapter 1: The Empire Ends
Chapter 2: Outcast
Chapter 3: Quid Pro Quo
Part II: Transitions
Chapter 4: The Soft Underbelly
Chapter 5: Upscaling
Chapter 6: Jun Carlos as Puppeteer
Chapter 7: The Meltdown of the Political Center
Chapter 8: Against the Highest Interest of the Nation
Chapter 9: A Spanish Sellout
Chapter 10: The Highest Representative
Chapter 11: Best Efforts
Part III: Reclaiming Sovereignty
Chapter 12: The Decalogue
Chapter 13: In or Out of NATO?
Chapter 14: The Iran-Contra Affair
Chapter 15: Never Averse to Sticking His Neck Out
Morten Heiberg is professor of contemporary Spanish studies at the University of Copenhagen.
To what extent does history weigh on the actual making of foreign
policy? Morten Heiberg provides an answer by examining US–Spanish
relations from the dark days of Franco to democratic Spain´s coming
of age under the government of Felipe González. This is a sharply
written, cutting-edge analysis of the difficulties that had to be
surmounted in order to rebalance the bilateral security link. The
best account available in English, this is an essential study which
will not leave any reader indifferent.
*Angel Viñas, Complutense University of Madrid*
This study provides an impressive, unprecedented, and fascinating
narrative of the Spanish–US relationship. Morten Heiberg’s book
takes readers from Franco’s submission to the recovery of Spanish
sovereignty. The book discloses many unknown aspects of the
negotiation process during Spain’s first democratic governments. It
enhances the major role of His Majesty King Juan Carlos. But above
all it extracts a universal conclusion: the ‘weak’ can win the
battle if they are determined and well-guided, because weakness is
their strength.
*Miguel Ángel Moratinos, Sciences Po, and former foreign minister
of Spain (2004–2010)*
In this lucidly written account of relations between Spain and the
United States during the transitional period from the dictatorship
of General Franco to the integration of democratic Spain into
Europe, Morten Heiberg convincingly argues that the domestic
political evolution of the perceptions of Spanish foreign
policymakers was closely connected to the status of US relations.
Heiberg, who gained access to previously classified Spanish and
American documents, demonstrates that post-Franco policymakers were
influenced by the Spanish collective memory of being humiliated by
the emerging world power in the Spanish–American war of 1898, until
Spain was, in reality, reduced to a status as US client after the
base agreements of 1953. After Franco’s death in 1975, the new
Spanish leadership sought to achieve territorial integrity and
greater autonomy through the revisions of the US base agreements.
Heiberg’s fascinating narrative of the Spanish–American
negotiations until 1988, which eventually improved relations
between the two nations and paved the way for Spain’s integration
into Europe, contains much new information—and his description of
King Juan Carlos’s active role behind the scenes is bound to
attract attention.
*Regin Schmidt, University of Copenhagen*
Based on a vast amount of sources, Morten Heiberg aptly analyzes
how the transition to democracy after 1975 influenced US–Spanish
relations. The author highlights the crucial role Felipe González
played in formulating a foreign policy strategy that, for the first
time since 1898, safeguarded Spanish national interests vis-à-vis
the United States. Unlike Franco, the socialist president succeeded
in putting his country on an equal footing with the United
States.
*Bernd Rother, The Federal Chancellor Willy Brandt Foundation*
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