La percepción exterior de España durante el franquismo

Abstract

Not only national images are worthless stereotypes, but also unstable simplifications formed in a vague way throughout the centuries. Even if we like it or not, we must admit that these ideas play a very important part in international relations, since they have a hand in governments and take part in public opinion configuration. The Franco system was very conscious of its foreign image importance and made whatever it could to control it. However, for the good and the bad, a country image does not depend on its government or a political regime but on a difficult factors addition. Spain in the Franco period was seen abroad as a poor and behind nation which had just sustained a cruel civil war, but also as tough people who can overcome adversities. As a result, there are many contradictory assessments about Franco's different Spain: on the one hand, the survival of the romantic cliche, on the other, the condemnation of a repressive regime, without forgetting the sympathy towards a country which is eager to join modernity.