Between détente and the shock of the global. The late Franco regime and its meaning for transatlantic relations (1975)

Abstract

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This article examines how the Franco regime infuenced transatlantic relations in 1975. The imminent death of General Francisco Franco, seen as part of the transnational Southern Flank crisis, represented an intellectual challenge for the West. As such, it forced US and Western European policymakers to test their divergent understandings of détente. Yet this new divide did not strain transatlantic relations. Happening in parallel to the world recession and the international energy crisis, it instead served to highlight transatlantic interdependency during a time of major global transformations. Thus, the Spanish dictatorship contributed to moving Western countries towards new forms of multilateralism.