Spain and the Wider World since 2000: Foreign Policy and International Diplomacy during the Zapatero Era (Security, Conflict and Cooperation in the Contemporary World)

This book offers the first comprehensive study of Spanish foreign policy since 2000. Based on privileged access to some of Spain’s most important foreign policy actors – including Prime Minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero and Foreign Minister Miguel Ángel Moratinos – the book offers an insider account of how Spanish foreign policy was shaped within the context of international diplomacy. It offers crucial new insights into the foreign policy of the PSOE governments (Spanish Socialist Workers' Party, 2004 to 2011). The volume considers the changes on the international stage since the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989, showing how regional conflicts and tensions affected the policy agendas of the West. To increase security and prosperity at home, the 2004 Spanish socialist government reasoned that they could no longer rely exclusively on unilateral measures, old Cold War alliances or a ‘Spain-first’ approach. Against the backdrop of this changing world, the book explores the concept of ‘effective multilateralism’ put forward by the PSOE, in which Spain abandoned its hitherto unconditional support for the US and instead engaged in a series of multilateral collaborations with regions around the world. Above all, this study seeks to provide a new international history of contemporary Spain, demonstrating how domestic changes intersected with global transformations, and put forward the argument that diplomacy works. This book offers the first comprehensive study of Spanish foreign policy since 2000. Based on privileged access to some of Spain's most important foreign policy actors - including Prime Minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero and Foreign Minister Miguel Ángel Moratinos - the book offers an insider account of how Spanish foreign policy was shaped within the context of international diplomacy. It offers crucial new insights into the foreign policy of the PSOE governments (Spanish Socialist Workers' Party, 2004 to 2011). The volume considers the changes on the international stage since the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989, showing how regional conflicts and tensions affected the policy agendas of the West. To increase security and prosperity at home, the 2004 Spanish socialist government reasoned that they could no longer rely exclusively on unilateral measures, old Cold War alliances or a 'Spain-first' approach. Against the backdrop of this changing world, the book explores the concept of 'effective multilateralism' put forward by the PSOE, in which Spain abandoned its hitherto unconditional support for the US and instead engaged in a series of multilateral collaborations with regions around the world. Above all, this study seeks to provide a new international history of contemporary Spain, demonstrating how domestic changes intersected with global transformations, and put forward the argument that diplomacy works.-- Provided by publisher Preface 6 Acknowledgements 8 Contents 11 1 Introduction 13 2 Terror in Madrid 25 2.1 Rising Star 25 2.2 Massacres and Manipulations 36 2.3 Al Qaeda’s Victory? 46 3 Breaking the Shackles 55 3.1 Leaving Iraq 55 3.2 The American Way 69 4 A European House of Cards 88 4.1 Old and New Europe 88 4.2 Boomerangs 104 5 Fidel and Raúl 124 5.1 Cuba Libre 124 5.2 He Who Imitates Must Fail 135 5.3 Obama’s Back Channel 144 6 The Other Comandante 160 6.1 The Carmona Affair 160 6.2 Why Don’t You Shut Up? 173 7 Stupid Little Island 195 7.1 The PSOE’s Secret Channel 195 7.2 Even If I Do Not Agree with You, I Love You 204 8 Alliance or Clash of Civilizations? 219 8.1 The Child on the Beach 219 8.2 Carpe Diem 231 8.3 The Seed of Evil 238 9 Capitalism Has Died 251 9.1 The Meltdown of Wall Street 251 9.2 The Perfect Storm 263 10 Conclusions 288 A Bibliographical Endnote 302 Sources and Bibliography 304 Index 316 Front Matter ....Pages i-xii Introduction (Morten Heiberg)....Pages 1-12 Terror in Madrid (Morten Heiberg)....Pages 13-42 Breaking the Shackles (Morten Heiberg)....Pages 43-75 A European House of Cards (Morten Heiberg)....Pages 77-112 Fidel and Raúl (Morten Heiberg)....Pages 113-148 The Other Comandante (Morten Heiberg)....Pages 149-183 Stupid Little Island (Morten Heiberg)....Pages 185-208 Alliance or Clash of Civilizations? (Morten Heiberg)....Pages 209-240 Capitalism Has Died (Morten Heiberg)....Pages 241-277 Conclusions (Morten Heiberg)....Pages 279-292 Back Matter ....Pages 293-314 Based on privileged access to some of Spain's most important foreign policy actors - including Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero and Foreign Minister Miguel Angel Moratinos - the book offers an insider account of how Spanish foreign policy was shaped within the context of international diplomacy.