Breve Ensaio sobre a Política Externa Portuguesa

European country, Portugal is also an Atlantic country. A small, semi-peripheral power with only one land border, Portugal has always experienced an unstable balance between continental pressure and the search for a maritime alternative. From these geopolitical constraints and this continuous attempt at balance arise long-term dynamics that have shaped the enduring features of Portugal’s strategic choices and historical characteristics of its foreign policy, which we can define as structures or models of international insertion - the focus of this article’s analysis.