ABSTRACT
After the 1978 constitution, the Spanish political right underwent a process of extended and on occasions quite rapid political, ideological and organizational changes. These changes were triggered first by the results of the 1982 general elections, which led simultaneously to the victory of the Socialist Party, the collapse of the centre-right Union of the Democratic Centre (UCD) and the transformation of the conservative Popular Alliance (AP) into the main representative of the right in Spanish politics. From 1982 to 1996, first under Manuel Fraga and then, after some periods of internal dispute and instability, under José María Aznar, the Popular Alliance, relabelled the ‘Popular Party’ (PP) in 1989, transformed its programme and organizational structures in order to become a credible competitor to the Socialist Party (PSOE). This process of renewal also affected, although initially in a less evident manner, the field of foreign policy and international relations. Under the Socialist governments headed by Felipe González, Spain assured its internally contested permanence in NATO and entered the European Community. The Socialist governments took part in the deepening of the European integration process and the development of ambitious cohesion policies that had direct repercussions for Spain. Socialist governments also witnessed the total restructuring of the European political map after the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989.
