The End of the "Spanish Danger" as a Prerequisite for Iberian Alignment during the Cold War

Abstract

This study is based on the paradox that the democratic values sustaining the West during the Cold War were not applied in all anti-Communist countries, specifically in the Iberian countries. For the Iberian Peninsula to be a block, it was necessary for Portugal, which had been part of the Hispanic Monarchy, to abandon the ongoing mistrust of its neighboring country, founded on the so-called perigo espanhol (“Spanish danger”). Cordial relations between Salazar and Franco contributed to the Portuguese losing their feeling of mistrust. The reason for this was that the Regime leaders in Spain during the Second World War, as can be seen from Army General Staff documents serving as the basis for this study, saw Portugal as a true friend and believed that both countries had to work together to avoid becoming involved in the war. The Iberian Block survived and when the Cold War started, Portugal sided firmly with the West.