Portugal's Position on the Arab-Zionist War in 1973

Abstract

The October 1973 Arab–Israeli War stands as a decisive turning point in the history of the Arab–Israeli conflict, not only because of its military outcomes but also due to its broad international implications. Among the European states involved, Portugal played an outsized role compared to its geographic and political weight, primarily because of the strategic location of the Azores islands. Under Prime Minister Marcelo Caetano, Portugal permitted the use of its Azores air bases by the United States to transport military supplies alignments. This study highlights the means behind Portugal’s position when supporting the colonial states in the warfare while it was at the edge of collapse. By utilizing historical perspective to trace the realities and the events of the Arab-Zionist war 1973. As well as to study the Portugal’s policy development at that time and its international context within NATO, USA and Arab countries. The importance of studying Portugal’s position in the 1973 war lies in its ability to shed light on the involvement of “peripheral” European states in the Arab–Israeli conflict. The study concludes that geographical and strategic factors can make a relatively small country influential in global events. Furthermore, it reveals the interaction between domestic challenges and international alignments in shaping foreign policy, while providing a broader understanding of the war’s global dimension beyond the role of the superpowers.