Abstract

OLIVEIRA, Pedro Aires. The Southern Flank under pressure: NATO and the Portuguese revolution, 1974-1975. Relações Internacionais [online]. 2009, n.21, pp.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, and 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 and 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 and 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.

Keywords : NATO; Portugal; Carnation’s Revolution; democratic transitions.

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