Date of Award
2025
Degree Type
Open Access Dissertation
Degree Name
History, PhD
Program
School of Arts and Humanities
Advisor/Supervisor/Committee Chair
Joshua Goode
Dissertation or Thesis Committee Member
JoAnna Poblete
Dissertation or Thesis Committee Member
Matthew Bowman
Terms of Use & License Information
Rights Information
© 2025 Alhanouf Foudah
Keywords
Cold War history, cultural diplomacy, Francoist Spain foreign policy, historical memory, international relations, Saudi–Spanish relations
Subject Categories
History | Near and Middle Eastern Studies
Abstract
This dissertation analyzes the political and cultural relationship between Saudi Arabia and Francoist Spain from 1939 to 1975, exploring how both states navigated profound ideological divides through diplomatic pragmatism, economic interest, and symbolic cultural diplomacy. While previous scholarship largely emphasizes Spain’s overtures toward the Arab world, this study foregrounds Saudi Arabia’s diplomatic agency—shaped by religious identity, historical memory, and geopolitical calculation. Drawing on diplomatic archives, United Nations records, Saudi media, and Arab intellectual commentary, the research demonstrates how Saudi Arabia strategically engaged a diplomatically marginalized Spain, calibrating symbols and narratives to serve its Cold War interests. By integrating cultural diplomacy with geopolitical strategy, the dissertation challenges economistic and Eurocentric interpretations, recasting Saudi–Spanish relations as a case study of how non-Western powers actively shaped Cold War diplomatic landscapes.
ISBN
9798290967462
Recommended Citation
Foudah, Alhanouf. (2025). Bridging Worlds: Saudi Arabia and Francoist Spain in Cultural Diplomacy and Political Pragmatism (1939–1975). CGU Theses & Dissertations, 995. https://scholarship.claremont.edu/cgu_etd/995.
