Salazar, propaganda and heritage: the design of “being portuguese” as a “soft power” around 1940

• Type: Chapter or Part of a Book
• Date: 2021

Authors

Botelho, Maria Leonor (Author) FLUP

Book

Title: International relations and heritage: patchwork in times of plurality

Pages: 423-443

Electronic ISBN: 978-3-030-77991-7

Publisher: Springer

Other information

Authenticus ID: P-00X-P5Z

DOI: 10.1007/978-3-030-77991-7_22

Abstract (EN): The “Policy of the Centenaries”, defined by António de Oliveira Salazar in March 1938 in an Unofficial Note of the Presidency of the Council, reflects the Spirit Policy designed by António Ferro (1895–1956). The 1940’s Celebrations, as Ferro explained, were not only intended to glorify our past, to underline our eternity, but also to celebrate Portugal of the present time. Within the politics of the Estado Novo (1933–1974), the idea of “being Portuguese” is clearly re-identified and identified not only with the glorious and triumphalist past of the nation but also through the design of a new nation under an enormous public works program that would lead to the Portuguese “resurgence”. Facing the national and international need to also affirm the historical value of a country with eight centuries of history that wanted to remain neutral in the context of World War II and the Spanish Civil War, the National Propaganda Service (SPN) would start a set of propaganda actions that put history, heritage and the new public works at its. At the same time, while Europe's borders are beginning to show themselves sensitive, we see Portugal taking on “collaborative neutrality” and making use of a deep and active political propaganda that ultimately aimed at the “material restoration” of a country. The double centenary commemoration of the Foundation of Nationality (1143) and the Restoration of Independence (1640), gathered on the joint date of 1940, is a good example of political affirmation that relies on the demand of what is “to be Portuguese” and shows how culture and heritage were then used as a soft power affirmation. Through the critical analysis of the propaganda designed around these events, but also through official discourses by Antonio de Oliveira Salazar and António Ferro the present study aims to understand how the existing or created heritage was at the time assumed as what we now call “soft power”.

Language: English

Type (Professor's evaluation): Scientific