Project description
A historical inquiry into Spain’s post-imperial interventionism
In the tumultuous period spanning 1833 to 1868, the Spanish Monarchy’s interventionist foreign policy cast a long shadow over its former colonies in Chile, Peru, and Ecuador. This era witnessed Spain’s relentless pursuit of influence, fuelled by doctrines such as pan-Hispanism and free trade imperialism. However, the ideological motivations driving Spain’s post-imperial interventions remain poorly understood, often overlooked in historical discourse. Supported by the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA) programme, the POST-EMPIRE project has emerged, aiming to dissect these complex dynamics and illuminate their significance within the broader context of European-American relations and contemporary geopolitics. By juxtaposing Spanish actions with those of the British Empire, France, and the US, POST-EMPIRE sheds light on the geopolitical imaginaries that fuelled post-imperial interventionism.
Objective
The project POST-EMPIRE will analyse the ideas and cultural representations that shaped the interventionist foreign policy deployed by the Spanish Monarchy in the republics of Chile, Peru and Ecuador during the Elizabethan period (1833-1868). I will reconstruct the doctrinal developments of pan-Hispanism, free trade imperialism, (anti)republicanism and navalism to understand how they structured the political culture of post-imperial interventionism, legitimising and guiding Spain's attempts to establish a sphere of influence in its former possessions. By studying a little-considered example of post-imperial interventionism, I aim to stimulate discussions at the academic and media levels that allow comparison with other analogous cases. POST-EMPIRE will achieve the following Research Objectives: RO.1: To explain the geopolitical imaginaries that gave rise to Spanish post-imperial interventionism. RO.2: Assess the weight that the examples of the British Empire, France and the United States had in the strategic culture of informal Spanish imperialism. RO. 3: To gain access to an interdisciplinary training experience that will allow me to enrich my knowledge as a historian of European-American relations with the perspectives of trans-Pacific historiography, political theory and socio-constructivist international relations theory. RO. 4: To contribute to elaborating an interdisciplinary theorisation of the dynamics that have characterised post-imperial conflicts throughout contemporary history. RO. 5: To enrich general social knowledge about the dynamics that govern post-imperial conflicts, seeking to raise awareness among public decision-makers and civil society of their importance for the Strategic Compass for the EU and European Security and foreign policy.
Fields of science
- social sciencespolitical sciencespolitical policiesforeign policy
- social sciencespolitical sciencespolitical policiescivil society
- humanitieshistory and archaeologyhistorycontemporary history
- humanitiesphilosophy, ethics and religionphilosophypolitical philosophy
- social sciencespolitical sciencesgovernment systems
Keywords
Programme(s)
- HORIZON.1.2 - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA) Main Programme
Funding Scheme
HORIZON-TMA-MSCA-PF-EF - HORIZON TMA MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships - European FellowshipsCoordinator
28006 Madrid
Spain