History of Contemporary Civil-Military Relations in Portugal

Abstract

Civil-military relations were very turbulent from the Napoleonic Wars and the fall of absolutism to the end of the First Portuguese Republic. During this convoluted period of over a 100 years, the military took a leading role in the process of redefining political power (Mascarenhas 1982; Gallagher 1983; Caeiro 1997). The level of military participation in politics is reflected in the number of military uprisings or ‘pronunciamentos’, by their involvement in the enactment and modification of constitutions and fundamental laws, and by the fact that most Portuguese governments were led by military men. Military participation in politics became a tradition entrenched in the ideational and institutional setting.¹ The military, who often threatened Salazar’s governments, provoked the fall of Caetano in 1974 and later shaped the democratisation process. Many officers, as well as politicians and other societal actors in Portugal, understood the recourse to force as a legitimate instrument to reach power or achieve certain political goals. Thus, the control of the military was a top priority for any Portuguese government.