This communication focuses on the analysis of Portuguese government programs, from 1976 to the end of the 20th century, in particular the chapters on foreign policy (there is, however, an episodic and complementary reference to the chapters on national defense), as to understand what governments have proposed regarding the strategic axis of postcolonial relations. On the one hand, and as general objectives, one intends to perceive whether there are significant changes or stability as the party in government changes, that is, whether party-political cleavages have a role shaping such relations; on the other hand, in view of such a relatively long period, it will be sought to envisage processes that shape the action of states, particularly if these processes derive more from internal or international influences and dynamics, contributing to a better understanding of the actors’ motives in the formulation and decision-making in foreign policy. As these are programs of orientation (at least, of stated intention) of the governments for the legislature, this analysis will allow us to understand what the medium and long-term objectives that the government foresees for his country in the international arena, but also which contingencies it detects to its action course. The emphasis in a relatively long period, such as the one we have studied, allows us to analyze the different phases of the relationship between Portugal and its former colonies until the creation of the CPLP (Community of Portuguese Speaking Countries), but also to assess the state of each bilateral relationship (attending to the specificities of the relationship with each of these countries, or, rather, dealing with them as a whole).
Using the literature and instruments provided by Foreign Policy Analysis, and in particular the studies on change (and continuity) in foreign policy, we will try to identify if, at the moment in study, three essential elements identified by theory were present (every time changes in the external orientation towards the former African colonies occurred): changes in essential structural conditions, strategic political leadership, and some kind of crisis; as well as whether and how some kind of consensus was built between the main parties around this foreign policy option. In order to re-read the scientific literature and official documentation according to this theoretical perspective, we will try, in short, to understand how this foreign policy axis was seen by the political decision makers, dissecting the motivations and justifications used within the programs.