Mapping the Agency of a Small, Former Colonial Power: Portugal and EU Political Conditionality in Sub-Saharan Africa

Abstract

As a former colonial power in Africa, Portugal has been a conspicuously neglected case in the contemporary academic literature on Europe–Africa relations. This article explores Portugal's role in European Union (EU) relations with Africa, focusing on the issue of political conditionality. The analysis considers how active Portugal has been at the EU level regarding that controversial issue and to what extent Lisbon has tried to mediate between its European partners and Africa. Taking into account the limited contributions on the topic, this article makes great use of primary sources and takes a long-term perspective. The findings show that Portugal's general stance was mainly reactive and cautious. However, Portuguese policy-makers ingeniously used intra-EU pressures towards conditionality to highlight Portugal's conciliatory position and buttress a bridging role between Europe and Africa. This study contributes to the literature on Portuguese foreign policy in the EU–Africa context and provides useful insights for other studies on smaller EU member states as well as Europe–Africa relations.