Spain, Latin America and Europe: The complex interaction of regionalism and cultural identification

Abstract

Spain's commercial, diplomatic and developmental ties with Latin America strengthened considerably during the 1990s. While policy towards the region was one of Spain's most notable success stories, in some areas it was still subject to significant limitations. Conversely, in other areas it might be argued that the focus on Latin America was disproportionate and optimal neither for Spain's own substantive interests nor in terms of Madrid's relations with other EU member states. The relationship between Spain's European and Latin American policies was increasingly complex, neither completely mutually reinforcing nor entirely zero‐sum, but subject to different dynamics in different areas of policy. Balancing the forces of regionalization within Europe with the culturally driven orientation towards Latin America constituted an acute challenge for Spanish foreign policy: a challenge which was met with considerable, but not unqualified, success.