U.S. PUBLIC DIPLOMACY AND THE MODERNIZATION OF EDUCATION IN SPAIN

Abstract

In the 1960s, the U.S. Foreign Service established a close relationship between education and the promotion of economicgrowth in developing countries. This linkage led U.S. diplomacy to concern itself with Spain's educational backwardness as a factor that hindered the country's modernization and, consequently, could have adverse effects on the political and strategic interests of the superpower. To counteract this threat, the U.S. government deployed various cultural, communication and training programs aimed at raising the level of Spanish education and placing it at the service of national development. This paper analyzes U.S. public diplomacy aimed at opening Spanish education to U.S. methods and influences in order to stimulate its modernization and reform. The work sheds new light on U.S. educational diplomacy in Spain through a study that delves into the intersection between the history of education and the history of international development.