A decade later - Fundação Luso-Americana

Carlucci versus Kissinger
The US and the Portuguese
revolution
Bernardino Gomes
and Tiago moreira de sá
Dom Quixote, 2008
84
The Portuguese
viewed by
the Americans
By e. muJAL-Leon
The Department of Government and the
BMW Center for German and European
Studies at Georgetown University had the
pleasure of hosting a presentation of the
book Carlucci versus Kissinger written by
Bernardino Gomes and Tiago Moreira de
Sá. Also in attendance at the book party
were former US ambassador to Portugal,
Elizabeth Bagley and the current ambassador
of Portugal to the United States
Nuno Brito, as well as a representative
from the Luso-American Development
Foundation, Miguel Vaz. It was our very
special privilege on this occasion also to
count with the presence of one of the
protagonists of this book, Ambassador
Frank Carlucci.
Carlucci versus Kissinger is an important,
original, and timely book. Not only does
it remind us of how much was at stake
in those crucial years in Portugal, it also
provides the reader with a perceptive
and thorough account of the Revolution,
the actions of the leading actors and
groups, and the extraordinary transition
to democracy that followed from it.
Other histories have been written about
this period. Two things are unique about
the contribution Carlucci versus Kissinger
makes. First, the book offers a compel-
BooK revieWs
‘ nearly forty years later,
this book casts a bright light
on the significance of the
portuguese revolution
and it tells the powerful story
of a nation’s struggle
for democracy.
’
ling analysis of the Portuguese Revolution
as viewed from Washington by US foreign-policy
makers. Second, it provides
us with an intimate account of the
debates that took place within the US
government and of the differences that
developed between Henry Kissinger and
Frank Carlucci over how to respond to
Portuguese events.
Nearly forty years later, this book casts
a bright light on the significance of the
Portuguese Revolution and it tells the
powerful story of a nation’s struggle for
democracy. Who could have imagined
that a small country on the European
periphery would awaken from the slumber
of a nearly fifty-year dictatorship,
fend off the efforts of radicals within
the Armed Forces Movement and in the
Communist Party to install a “popular”
democracy, and, then, in a few short
years assume its democratic destiny? This
historic process led one of the major
figures in American political science, the
late Samuel Huntington, to identify the
Portuguese Revolution as the birthplace
for the Third Wave which would in the
space of two decades sweep aside dictatorships
in Southern and Eastern
Europe as well as Latin America.
Carlucci versus Kissinger helps us understand
why Portugal was at epicenter of
world politics during the mid- and late
1970s. The future configuration of
European security and the role of the
Atlantic Alliance hung in the balance
during the Portuguese Revolution. So
did the shape of decolonization in
Southern Africa. Even the Cold War and
the balance of power between the United
States and the Soviet Union would be
deeply influenced by the successful
struggle for democracy in this small
country.
This book offers a penetrating analysis
of US foreign policy during a tumultuous
period, and it underscores the importance
of leadership in political processes.
Too often historians and political
scientists focus on broad and structural
processes. This book reminds us that it
is individuals who make history. Any one
interested in how US foreign policy is
made should read this book. Its documents
and interviews provide a gold
mine of information. The book presents
the riveting story of two major figures
in the US foreign policy establishment
(Henry Kissinger and Frank Carlucci),
their clashes and differences of opinion
toward events in Portugal.
Parallel no. 6 | FALL | WINTER 2011