US Public Diplomacy and Democratization in Spain Selling Democracy?

When the post-war relationship between Spain and America began, Hitler's old ally was an unlikely candidate for US influence. The Cold War changed all this. Soon there were US bases on Spanish territory and a political conjuring trick was under way. This volume examines the public diplomacy strategies that the US government employed to accomplish an almost impossible mission: to keep a warm relationship with a tyrant without drifting apart from his opponents, and to somehow pave the way for a transition to democracy. The book's focus on the perspective of soft power breaks new ground in understanding US-Spanish relations. In so doing, it offers valuable lessons for understanding how public diplomacy has functioned in the past and can function today and tomorrow in transitions to democracy.

Francisco J. Rodríguez works at University of Salamanca, Spain; formerly, was postdoctoral researcher at Harvard University, and Fulbright Visiting Scholar at George Washington University. His areas of concentration are: Public Diplomacy, Spain-United States relations. Among his publications, II República, Reforma Agraria y Represión (2013, together with Riesco and Pintor) '¿Antítodo Contra el Antiamericanismo? (2010); and Estrategias de Diplomacia Cultural en un Mundo Interpolar (2015) co-edited with Elisa Gavari.

Lorenzo Delgado works at Instituto de Historia (CSIC, Madrid), Spain. Formerly was Research Fellow at Université de Paris I-Sorbonne, and Researcher Participant in the U.S. International Visitor Program. His areas of expertise are: Spanish International Relations, Public Diplomacy and Cultural Action Abroad. Among his publications: Westerly wind: The Fulbright Program in Spain (2009); España y Estados Unidos en el siglo XX (2005, co-edited with M. Dolores Elizalde).

Nicholas J. Cull is profesor of Public Diplomacy at the University of Southern California, USA, where he directs a master's program in public diplomacy. He is originally from the UK and is well known as a historian of the political uses of media and popular culture. His books include The Cold War and the United States Information Agency: American Propaganda and Public Diplomacy, 1945-1989 (2008) and The Decline and Fall of the United States Information Agency: American Public Diplomacy, 1989-2001 (2012).

1. Introduction: Soft Power, Public Diplomacy And Democratization; Nicholas John Cull & Francisco J. Rodríguez
2. U.S. Public Diplomacy And Democracy Promotion In The Cold War,
1950s-1980s; Giles Scott-Smith (Senior Researcher At The Roosevelt Study Center In Middelburg And Ernst Van Der Beugel Chair In Diplomatic History At The University Of Leiden.)
3. Furthering U.S. Geopolitical Priorities And Dealing With The Iberian
Dictatorships; Rosa Pardo (Universidad Nacional De Educación A Distancia-Madrid )
4. Modernizing A Friendly Tyrant: U.S. Public Diplomacy And Sociopolitical
Change In Francoist Spain; Lorenzo Delgado (Instituto De Historia, Cchs-Csic)
5. U.S. Public Diplomacy And Democracy Promotion In Authoritarian
Spain, 1940s-1970s; Pablo León (Centro Universitario De La Defensa, Zaragoza)
6. Culture And National Images: American Studies Vs Anti-Americanism
In Spain; Francisco J. Rodríguez (Universidad De Salamanca–R.C. Complutense De Harvard)
7. Spain's First 'Re-Branding Effort' In The Postwar Franco Era; Neal Rosendorf (New Mexico State University)
8. U.S. Public Diplomacy And Democratization In Spain. A Practitioner's
View; Ambassador Mark Asquino
9. Conclusion. Consistency And Credibility: Why You Cannot
Collaborate With Dictatorships And Sell Democracy; Lorenzo Delgado