The response of the Labour Government to the 'revolution of carnations' in Portugal, 1974-76
This thesis examines the response of the Labour Government to events in Portugal following the coup dâĂ©tat in April 1974. Britain, as Portugalâs traditional ally and largest trading partner, with close partisan ties between the Labour movement and Portuguese Socialist Party, was a leading player in the international response to developments in Lisbon. The Portuguese Revolution also had wider implications for British foreign policy: the presence of communist ministers in government threatened both the cohesion of NATO and detente with the Soviet Union; West European leaders sought to influence events in Lisbon through the new political structures of the EEC; the outcome of events in Portugal appeared to foreshadow a political transition in Spain; and decolonisation in Angola and Mozambique made Rhodesiaâs continued independence unlikely. This study therefore contributes to historical debate concerning the Labour Government and its foreign policy during the 1970s. It considers the extent to which the domestic, political and economic difficulties of the Labour Government during this period undermined the effectiveness of its foreign policy. This thesis also considers the relative importance of, and interplay
Cooke, S. J.
The response of the Labour Government to the 'revolution of carnations' in Portugal, 1974-76. This thesis examines the response of the Labour Government to events in Portugal following the coup dâĂ©tat in April 1974. Britain, as Portugalâs traditional ally and largest trading partner, with close partisan ties between the Labour movement and Portuguese Socialist Party, was a leading player in the international response to developments in Lisbon. The Portuguese Revolution also had wider implications for British foreign policy: the presence of communist ministers in government threatened both the cohesion of NATO and detente with the Soviet Union; West European leaders sought to influence events in Lisbon through the new political structures of the EEC; the outcome of events in Portugal appeared to foreshadow a political transition in Spain; and decolonisation in Angola and Mozambique made Rhodesiaâs continued independence unlikely. This study therefore contributes to historical debate concerning the Labour Government and its foreign policy during the 1970s. It considers the extent to which the domestic, political and economic difficulties of the Labour Government during this period undermined the effectiveness of its foreign policy. This thesis also considers the relative importance of, and interplay
response labour_government portugal examines response labour_government event portugal follow coup britain portugal traditional ally large trading partner close partisan tie labour_movement portuguese socialist party lead player international response development portuguese revolution also wider_implication british_foreign_policy presence communist minister government threaten cohesion nato soviet_union west european leader seek influence event new political_structure eec outcome event portugal appear political transition spain decolonisation mozambique make rhodesia continue independence unlikely study_therefore contribute historical_debate concern labour_government foreign_policy considers_extent domestic_political economic difficulty labour_government period undermine effectiveness foreign_policy also considers relative_importance interplay