ABSTRACT
The redefinition of Spain’s external relations between Franco’s death in November 1975 and the Madrid European Council of June 1989 entailed first the ratification of the constitution of 1978 and then the prolonged negotiations for full membership in all major Euro-Atlantic institutions. Domestic debates on external entanglements and commitments were woven into the politics of the domestic transition, while the timing and content of policies were set by the interactions between internal conditions and the evolution in world markets and politics.The principal agent in the initial years of 1975-76 was King Juan Carlos, whose use of the prerogatives inherited from Franco launched the country on the simultaneous process of domestic transition and redefinition of external relations; it was only after ratification of the constitution by referendum in December 1978 that the Union of the Democratic Centre (UCD) and the Socialist party (PSOE) governments of 1979-86 could start the task of fully reshaping Spain’s external relations. Only the Socialist government of 1982-86 possessed the stable parliamentary majority and international prestige, augmented by the King’s receipt of the Charlemagne prize following his crucial role in thwarting the coup d’état of 23 February 1981, to negotiate Spain’s insertion in the Western community of states. The years 1986-89 rounded off unfinished business, culminating in Spain taking over the EC presidency in the early months of 1989.
