The European Gatekeeper: The Netherlands, Spain and the European Community, 1973 - 1977

Forty-one years have passed since the start of the Spanish transition from dictatorship to democracy in 1975. This regime change did not unfold in isolation from external influences. Researchers have mainly investigated the role of major actors, while involvement of smaller players has had less emphasis placed on it. In this article, the foreign policy of the Netherlands regarding Spain and the European Community (EC) is examined during the last phase of the Francoregime (1973-1975) and the first phase of the transition to democracy (1975-1977). This period corresponds with the office term of... Mehr ...