Portuguese at War From the Nineteenth Century to the Present Day

From war campaigns to peacekeeping operations, The Portuguese at War presents an overview of the conflicts, wars and revolutions in which Portugal was involved from the nineteenth century to the present day. From the French invasions to the civil wars, from the African Empire to the wars of decolonisation, from belligerence in the First World War to neutrality in the Second, from participation in the Atlantic Alliance to peacekeeping operations in Kosovo, East Timor, Lebanon and Afghanistan. The book addresses the military interventions in politics and the role of the country’s political regimes in military reform: from the Liberal Revolutions to the Republic, from the military dictatorship and authoritarian regime to the 25th of April Revolution and the transition to democracy. The historical record of Portugal’s war involvement is not only closely aligned to international and European circumstance but to internal factors: the economy, society, public opinion and political/military power. A historical perspective must of necessity link Portuguese war excursions with the military institutions in place at the time: their recruitment system, social composition and organisation of the army, navy and air force; the military ethos; the evolution of equipment, weapons and military technologies; strategic military doctrine and how this impacted on tactics and military operations; and of course the war outcomes. Special attention is given to the effects of international isolation after the Estado Novo, and post-Cold War europeanisation. The book does not eschew the plurality of interpretative theories. Rather, it seeks to combine historical accuracy of the Portuguese at war within a highly readable literary narrative aimed not only at undergraduate and research levels, but at a broader public audience interested in the complex reach and role of Portugal in world history.

Nuno Severiano Teixeira is Full Professor at NOVA University–Lisbon, currently Visiting Professor at Georgetown University, and Director of the Portuguese Institute of International Relations. He was a Visiting Scholar at the Institute for European Studies, University of California, Berkeley (2004), and Senior Visiting Scholar at the Robert Schuman Centre for Advanced Studies European University Institute–Florence (2010). He served as Minister of Interior (2000/2002) and Minister of Defence (2006/2009) of the Portuguese Government.

Contents

Acknowledgments

Introduction

Chapter One
Between Liberal Revolution and Civil Wars:
The international context of liberal revolution
Revolution and counter-revolution: Absolutism, liberalism and civil war
Two liberalisms in conflict: Constitution, chart and civil war

Chapter Two
Building the African Empire
The new Brazil
The scramble for Africa and effective occupation
Metropolitan army and colonial army
“Pacification” campaigns

Chapter Three
The Republic and the Great War
The international standing of the Republic before the war
Entering the war: National objectives and political strategies
The conduct of war: War policies, the military instrument and the operational theatres
Managing peace: The aftermath of war and the Versailles Conference

Chapter Four
The Estado Novo and the Spanish Civil War
The international standing of the Estado Novo before the war
Pushing the limits of ambiguity: Portugal in the face of the Spanish civil war
From the internal threat to the continental threat: Defence policy and military reforms

Chapter Five
The Estado Novo and the Second World War
Portugal’s international standing and foreign policy on the eve of the Second World War
Why neutrality? Portugal and the Second World War
The avatars of continental threat: Defence policy, strategy and the military instrument

Chapter Six
The Cold War and Nato
The international standing of the Estado Novo and the second post-war period
From neutrality to alignment: Portugal and the foundation of the Atlantic Alliance
Portugal and NATO: Defence policy and the reform of the military instrument

Chapter Seven
The End of the Empire and the Decolonization Wars
The international isolation of the Estado Novo: The international scene, Portuguese foreign policy and the colonial question
Mobilising for war: Defence policy, the armed forces and guerrilla warfare
Independence movements and armed conflict: One or three decolonisation wars?
War assessment and the political fate of the regime

Chapter Eight
From War Campaigns to Peace Keeping Operations
Portuguese Democracy between Africa and Europe
Post Cold War: Atlanticism, europeanisation and post-colonial relations
The democratic model of the armed forces and the new international missions

Notes
Bibliography
Index