The Diplomat
Política Exterior, the leading Spanish magazine in the field of International Relations for thirty years, begins a new phase, renewed, but with the same objectives that have guided it since its first issue: to promote a permanent debate on Spain’s relations with the outside world and to contribute to a better understanding of international realities.
Founded by Darío Valcárcel in 1987 and headed since 2020 by Josep Piqué, the journal will be published by the Fundación de Análisis de Política Exterior.
Issue 216 was presented in Madrid at a well-attended event sponsored by Abante. The president of the Foundation, Gaspar Atienza, and the magazine’s director, José María de Areilza, stressed that the raison d’être of this publication has always been and will always be “to disseminate the best ideas and the best analyses based on plurality and intellectual honesty”.
The first issue of this new phase is entitled “The Revenge of Authoritarian Leaders“, a concept inspired by the book “The Age of the Strongman” by Gideon Rachman, chief international analyst of the British newspaper Financial Times. Both Rachman and José I. Torreblanca, a member of the editorial board of Foreign Policy, took part in the presentation colloquium.
According to Rachman, in the 21st century, we are witnessing a globalisation of nationalist and populist leaders who rise to power on the grounds that they exclusively represent the ordinary citizen, rely solely on their instincts and promote a dangerous cult of their own figure, without dissent or checks and balances. Always leveraged on the confrontation of the “bad” elites against the “good” people.
The journal Política Exterior will continue to be published bimonthly, with in-depth articles, but will keep its finger on the pulse of current affairs in its digital edition: www.politicaexterior.com.
