This book is the result of a conference organised by the Contemporary Portuguese Political History Research Centre (CPHRC) and the University of Dundee that took place during September 2000. The purpose of this conference, and the resulting book, was to bring together various experts in the field to analyse and debate the process of Portuguese decolonisation, which was then 25 years old, and the effects of this on the Portuguese themselves. For over one century, the Portuguese state had defined its foreign policy on the basis of its vast empire &endash; this was the root of its ’Atlanticist’ vision. The outbreak of war of liberation in its African territories, which were prompted by the new international support for self determination in colonised territories, was a serious threat that undermined the very foundations of the Portuguese state. This book examines the nature of this threat, how the Portuguese state initially attempted to overcome it by force, and how new pressures within Portuguese society were given space to emerge as a consequence of the colonial wars.
This is the first book that takes a multidisciplinary look at both the causes and the consequences of Portuguese decolonisation &endash; and is the only one that places the loss of Portugal’s Eastern Empire in the context of the loss of its African Empire. Furthermore, it is the only English language book that relates the process of Portuguese decolonisation with the search for a new Portuguese vision of its place in the world.
This book is intended for anyone who is interested in regime change, decolonisation, political revolutions and the growth and development of the European Union. It will also be useful for those who are interested in contemporary developments in civil society and state ideologies. Given that a large part of the book is dedicated to the process of change in the various countries of the former Portuguese Empire, it will also be of interest to students of Africa. It will be useful to those who study decolonisation processes within the other former European Empires, as it provides comparative detail. The book will be most useful to academic researchers and students of comparative politics and area studies.

Table of Contents
Preface and acknowledgements
PART 1: Portugal, the colonies and the 1974 Revolution
The influence of overseas issues in Portugal’s transition to democracy
Richard A. H. Robertson
The transition to democracy and Portugal’s decolonization
António Costa Pinto
PART 2: Case Studies
São Tomé and Príncipe: decolonization and its legacy, 1974-90
Malyn Newitt
Macao, Timor and Portuguese India in the context of Portugal’s
recent decolonization
Arnaldo Gonçalves
PART 3: Portugal and the PALOPs
Portugal and the CLCP:
heightened expectations, unfounded disillusions
Luís António Santos
What good is Portugal to an African?
Michel Cahen
Portugal’s lusophone African immigrants:
colonial legacy in a contemporary labour market
Martin Eaton
PART 4: Testimonies
Portugal, Africa and the future
Douglas L. Wheeler
The empire is dead, long live the EU
António de Figueiredo
Bibliography
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