This book focuses on the United States' views and political actions in Portugal during the democratic transition, and should not be taken for a history of the Portuguese revolution. In other words, its aim is to evaluate the impact of American actions in the final outcome of the transition from an authoritarian regime to democracy in Portugal. To that end, extensive research was carried out during a four-year period, both in the US and in Portugal, privileging primary sources, especially American and Portuguese archival materials, many of which were previously unpublished.

This book deals with a successful example of U.S. support to the transition from an undemocratic regime to a democratic one in Portugal. As Samuel Huntington wrote, Portugal represented the beginning of the "Third Wave of Democracy" and his example served as a model for subsequent democratization of Spain, Latin America and even the countries of the former Soviet Union. The Portuguese case of 1974-1976, is especially important now, as we witness the beginning of a fourth wave of democratization throughout the Middle East.