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The author intends to go beyond the unanimous opinion that the processes of political transition must be explained, almost exclusively, in terms of national forces and calculations. In the case of the Spanish transition he intends to demonstrate how thestrategies of the national actors (crown, government and parties) were moulded largely by the pressure of regulations and structures drawn up outside its frontiers. Firstly, by the United States’ discreet support (always putting forward first her strategic interests) of the political evolution whilst it did not put in danger the Spanish contribution to the western defensive system (while the USSR hardly played any role). The Spanish transition did not offer a threat to the alliance system from the beginning and with which the result was practically guaranteed. The European governments for their part, worried least about security and more about the political dimension pressurizing the regime and supporting the leaders of the democratic opposition more and more. The European institutions, withtheir veto, ended up legitimizing the Spanish process of democratization while the different Internationals came together and helped their coreligionists in Spain. Their political and diplomatic pressure were complemented, with the paradigm in the case of PSOE, with the contribution of means and resources by the political foundations, largely German, whose highly visible participation did not lessen the credibiity of those it protected.