Introduction: Spain's powerful world empire of the 16th and 17th centuries ultimately yielded command of the seas to England. Subsequent failure to embrace the mercantile and industrial revolutions caused the country to fall behind Britain, France, and Germany in economic and political power. Spain remained neutral in World Wars I and II but suffered through a devastating civil war (1936-39). A peaceful transition to democracy following the death of dictator Francisco FRANCO in 1975, and rapid economic modernization (Spain joined the EU in 1986) gave Spain a dynamic and rapidly growing economy and made it a global champion of freedom and human rights. The...

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Foreign Policy: Since emerging from its relative international isolation during the Franco era, Spain has steadily become an important figure in international affairs. It joined the European Community in 1986 and is strongly pro-Europe.

Spain became a member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) in 1982, with its full integration into the military structure of NATO completed in 1997. It has around 1500 personnel involved in the NATO-led operation ISAF in Afghanistan, and has sent troops on peace-keeping missions in Afghanistan, Bosnia, Kosovo, Haiti and Lebanon, and as observers in the former Yugoslavia, Ethiopia, Eritrea, the ...

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