O Flanco sul sob tensao. A NATO e a Revolucao portuguesa, 1974-1975
In: Relações internacionais: R:I, Heft 21, S. 61-78
ISSN: 1645-9199
In the first decades of the Cold War, NATO's major powers coexisted in a fairly easy way with the un-democratic nature of the Portuguese regime. After the collapse of Caetano's dictatorship, however, the ascendancy of the Marxist left, & of the Communist Party in particular, created a whole set of dilemmas to the Western powers. This article describes how several NATO's members equated the implications of a possible triumph of the Moscow orientated left in Portugal to the cohesion of the Alliance. The article argues that the cautious & moderate stance assumed by the European partners was vital to persuade the Ford administration in Washington to accept a policy towards the Portuguese based on a combination of pressures & inducements. As the article tries to show, this policy may be seen as one of the key international factors that helped to bring about the consolidation of Portugal's democracy. Adapted from the source document.
