In the field of propaganda, it is in the neutral countries where the direct confrontation between the twosides takes place, and where each side must advertise itself in order to tip undecided minds in its favor. Inthis sense, during the First World War the propaganda deployed in Spain by the belligerents was somethingmore than just a paper war, but one where words were supplemented by images supplied by the newtechnical resources of the day. Employing different approaches, pragmatic propagandists, as well asopportunistic and even (frustrated) idealistic ones, used all the means to hand; moreover, assisted by theirrespective diplomatic services, journalists, politicians, intellectuals and professional publicists alsoparticipated in this story. This was also a struggle marked by a clash of different principles and materialinterests, also quite diverse, supported in this case by vast amounts of money that crisscrossed the face ofSpain to purchase opinion, especially that expressed in the press, for immediate reward.
We shall hereaddress the issue from the perspective of Spain’s international relations and foreign policy during the FirstWorld War and aim to produce some new insights based on the analysis not only of the factors governingpropaganda in Spain during the war, but also of the objectives, models and instruments of this propaganda.In this sense, we shall consider propaganda as an integral aspect of the foreign policy of the belligerents.Finally, we shall present some conclusions yielded by this approach.
