The Formation of European Policy in Post-Franco Spain: The Role of Ideas, Interests, and Knowledge

This work argues that knowledge-based claims about the politics of European integration provide the basis on which interests shaped by the idea of Europe are translated into policy. This formula has been derived from an explanatory case study of the foreign policy of post-Franco Spain. Following the transition to democracy, Spanish leaders were united in their agreement that economic modernization and democratic consolidation could come only through participation in the process of European integration. However, this was accompanied by uncertainty of how best to secure Spain's interests in Europe.