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Catalan nationalism had always supported Ireland in its struggle for autonomy or independence against the British Empire. The outbreak of the Irish Civil War, nevertheless, surprised Catalanism. This article discusses the difficulties of the main Catalanist political parties in that period—the Lliga Regionalista, Acció Catalana, and Estat Català—to explain the Anglo-Irish Treaty in the Catalanist milieu as well as the difficulties of differentiating dominion and federation and adopting a coherent position according to their own ideology and to Catalan internal political dynamics. Focusing on this study case, the objective of the article is to show the difficulties of stateless national movements to explain their own politics and objectives from external models. And, likewise, how the look toward an external nationalism can stop being useful or even raise unexpected questions within the movement that tries to explain itself by simplifying the contexts of others. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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This essay analyzes the recent surge of Catalan nationalism and its electoral effects, focusing on socio-economic and federalist factors. Traditionally marginal, Catalan secessionism has gained traction, defying the trend of increasing socio-political integration with Spain. The study investigates the revival of secessionist sentiment after 2012 and its impact on Spanish politics. Key findings suggest the rise in separatism is driven by dissatisfaction with Spain’s federal fiscal policies and fears of Spanish federalism, especially following reforms limiting Catalan self-governance. Additionally, the economic dimension, particularly the 2008 recession and fiscal imbalances, has intensified separatist inclinations. This escalation in nationalism has profound implications for Spanish politics, leading to economic consequences and strategic shifts in federal party responses to separatist demands. The essay concludes that Catalan nationalism’s growth reflects a complex interaction of socio economic elements, federal statutory reforms, and regional discontent, significantly altering Spanish political dynamics.

The article examines the symbolism of vegetal forms used in Catalan modernism at the turn of the 20th century. Catalan modernism was one of the artistic movements that widely used nature as a source of inspiration. Vegetal elements of decoration were not just aesthetic ornaments, they were filled with historical and cultural symbolism acquiring ideological value. Guided by the national ideals that were formed during the 19th century in the wake of the Renaixença, the artists of Catalan modernism created a symbolic universe. Vegetal ornamentation synthesised and visually conveyed the diversity of ideas of Catalanism, i.e., nationalism, tradition, heroic past and religious sentiment. It resulted in an iconographic program adapted to the distinctive features of Catalan society and, in particular, to the ideological background with which conservative Catalanists identified themselves.

the article attempts to reveal the role of right-wing political forces in the formation of Catalan nationalism in the last quarter of the XIX cen-tury and to determine the results of their activities by 1898. In the late 1880s, the Catalan nationalist ideology was created, the right became the dominant force in Catalan politics. The unstable political and eco-nomic situation, the lack of influence on state policy, the struggle for protectionism and against the civil code consolidated the conservative strata of the population, attracted the sympathies of the bourgeoisie and intellectuals. Right-wing forces played a key role in shaping regional, cultural and political discourses in the region, and thanks to their ef-forts, the symbolism of Catalan nationalism took shape by the end of the century.

Since the late 2000s, creators of cultural products have imagined a future Catalonia with its independent institutions as the result of a collective effort driven by the citizens, rather than just the elites. In this article, I posit that the representation of the Catalan republic as benign, horizontal and modern shows tensions and omissions in aspects such as coercion, economic freedom, social protection, bureaucracy, language policies and the handling of immigration. This articulation is exemplified in the journalistic fiction Crònica de la independència (2009) by Patrícia Gabancho, the documentary L'endemà (2014a) by Isona Passola and the essay La República possible (2017) by Antonio Baños. The unproblematic and contradictory depiction of the state reveals latent fears derived from the historical difficulty to fit this political institution into the complex reality of the nation. Moreover, the cultural products analysed show the need to stabilize the new meanings related to the signifiers state and republic in Catalan culture. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The circumstances surrounding the call for a referendum on national independence in Catalonia in October 2017 led to high levels of collaboration between two, at first sight, unlikely partners: anarchists and Catalan independentists. Unlikely as this alliance may seem, it was well grounded on a number of factors: first of all, in the State response to the independentist challenge—the massive repression and the blockading of institutional channels to process nationalist demands pushed both movements closer in opposition to the central government; and secondly, in the prolonged interactions (in specific regions and industries) and engagement in joint solidarity activities between anarchists and segments of the Catalan left who had been influenced by the bottom‐up approach of the indignados movement. Finally, this collaboration was also rooted on a long history of mutual engagement between anarchism and sectors of Catalan nationalism that, while not unproblematic, provided deep roots to this dialogue. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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The article presents the study of national symbols of Catalonia: their emergence and visual representation in the art of the 19th century. National symbolic system of Catalonia date back to the Renaixença movement in literature that initiated the formation of the Catalan language and literature. The scope and purpose of the article included an investigation of the works of the most prominent representatives of the Catalan national renaissance in order to identify the origins of the symbols they deploy. Consideration of symbols serves the purpose of defining the way national aspects get their visual representation. The method of historical typology was used to systematize the sources. Memoirs and publications in the press were analyzed with the textual method, and visual materials – with stylistic and iconic methods. Detailed research of the works of Renaixença has shown that Catalan cultural code initially emerged in poetry. In the second half of the 19th century, the symbols acquired visuality in fine art, namely paintings and visual design of the front pages of Catalan newspapers and magazines. The article provides a detailed account of selected examples of such visuals. At that time, Catalan intellectuals created works devoted to the history of Catalan-speaking lands, seeking to find roots that would picture the ancient nature of their motherland. They searched the archives and looked into medieval literature and folklore to prove the continuity of prosperous medieval Catalonia, part of the Kingdom of Aragon, and nineteenth-century Catalonia. Thinking over national history gave birth to national identity. At the same time history acquired a visual dimension. Churches, monasteries, memorable dates, leaders and thinkers that bore distinct national identity were visualized. Medieval plots penetrated art that tapped into heroic deeds of the past for inspiration. The spread of visual images helped bridge the gap between past and present. The newly acquired continuity of tradition strengthened the national narrative. The process enabled the national unity of the Catalan people with the central idea of an imaginary community of a nation-state.

La Verge de Montserrat is a statue of the Virgin Mary and her son found in Catalonia in the eleventh century in which both characters are depicted as "Black." This female figure occupies a particular position in current Catalonia since she is considered the patron saint of the country and constitutes one of the symbolic cornerstones of Catalan nationalism. Through the concept of "iconic path," this article tracks the formation and evolution of this image in Catalonia from its inception until the present day, bringing special attention to the roles and significances that it has acquired within the context of the current pro-independence movement. We also draw a comparison between the "lives" of this image in Catalonia and its development in other countries, namely Puerto Rico, Equatorial Guinea and Sardinia. In each of these places, the image of the goddess has been reinterpreted according to local viewpoints. Yet these conceptualizations are not fixed or homogeneous, but radically dynamic and problematic. The iconic paths of images diverge and converge across time giving birth to new creative exercises. Through this approach, our aim is to propose a relational and processual model for the study of religious images, and images in general, as historical objects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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In an interview with Jordi Canal, professor of Contemporary History and expert on Spanish nationalism, the topic of the rewriting of history for political purposes by members of the Catalan nationalist movement is addressed. Canal addresses issues that animate political and intellectual debate in contemporary Spain in relation to the independence aspirations of a section of Catalan public opinion. Canal’s studies on Catalan nationalism exemplify the ideological drive to set regional history as a “destiny of independence.” [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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This article presents Catalan independentism as a political religion. The main area of interest is the process of evangelisation to ensure the effectiveness of contemporary thought and the independence movement in Catalonia. The aim of the analysis is to verify the instruments and mechanisms through which an effective and permanent evangelization in the spirit of independentism is possible. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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This chapter explains the Catalan evolution since the transition to the current situation and as most of the population has gone from being in favour of autonomy to being sovereigntist. The author tries to answer the question: What happened so that in a little more than forty years the opinion of a good part of the Catalans had changed so much?

In the aftermath of the Spanish War, the Catalan philosopher Eugeni d'Ors and the Spanish philosopher José Ortega y Gasset offered a reading of Einstein’s theory of relativity in which discussions of unity and plurality connected their respective synthetic philosophies and nationalist projects of political and cultural analysis and reform. Besides their philosophical views, references to Einstein tracked their territorial concerns and personal circumstances in the relations between Catalonia, Spain and Europe. Einstein’s theory symbolized the saving connection between the classical and the modern, Europe and the Mediterranean, and science and philosophy. In this paper I focus on the case of Ors in relation to Catalan nationalism and the project he called Noucentismeand the case of Ortega in relation to Spanish nationalism and his political philosophy in España Invertebrada.

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Copyright of Ayer: Revista de Historia Contemporánea is the property of Asociacion de Historia Contemporanea and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

In the history of Modern Europe, islands have generally been considered as passive spaces. Historically, however, Mediterranean island societies have played important—and often active—roles in the formation of nation-states and in nation-building processes. Little attention has been paid to the ways in which island societies have affected mainland nationalism. This article argues that Mediterranean islands offered rhetorical and symbolic elements that proved useful for the construction of mainland European national identities, largely because islandness, from a continental perspective, was seen as capable of conserving authenticity. This article draws upon the Mediterranean island case studies of Sardinia and Corsica and their relationships to Catalan nationalism, French nationalism, and Italian nationalism as well as wider nation-building processes.

This paper explains the difficulties in applying Hroch's three‐phase scheme to much of the Catalan‐ and Basque‐speaking territories and proposes a new phase, Phase Z, which takes place as a reaction against the advance of the 'national movement' of the 'non‐dominant ethnic group' in areas in which it is weak or in a minority position. This study is limited to Valencian anti‐Catalanism and Navarrese anti‐Basquism, but the possibility is left open for this stage to be applicable to other 'anti‐nationalisms' (Irish unionism, for example). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article analyses a sports-related satirical-parody television series as a generator of preferred meanings that may be associated with an ideological context of a stateless nation such as Catalonia, where the symbolic aspect is fundamental to the imaginary-building process. In this case, the research focuses on identifying whether representations of difference exist in the humorous content of the television series and, if they do, how they are represented and whether they propose imaginary boundaries. Through a quantitative and qualitative analysis in a satirical-parody television series about sports-related news, this study shows that humour generates symbolic boundaries between two spaces. While one of the spaces is in close proximity to the context in which the series is produced and broadcast –Catalonia–, the other encompasses the rest of Spain. In the same direction, humorous audiovisual text contains preferred and also dominant meanings, and these are expressed by how characters valuate other characters, situations, contexts, etc. The nature of the valuations proposes meanings that express the idea of a positive “us” and a negative “them”. Television humour acts as a cultural agent that proposes preferred meanings to the subject, and such meanings become part of the subject’s identity process.

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In this paper, we study the non-financial employment commitment using the so-called “lottery question”, which asks if you would continue working if you won the lottery. This is the first study that reports results using data from a Southern-European country and this is done both before and 3 years into the recession following the financial crisis of 2008. We find that the willingness to continue working in Spain is shockingly lower than in previous research done in other countries. Additionally, we find two important moderators of the non-financial employment commitment at the individual level. The willingness to work increases by education level and it is negatively correlated with the time spent searching for jobs. We find some regional effects, but in general, we do not find that the non-financial employment commitment is higher during the financial recession. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

According to the selective exposure theory, individuals are exposed to the media based on their ideological orientations, and they seek messages that match their convictions. This paper proposes to expand the study of selective exposure beyond the left-right cleavage. It does so by exploring the importance of positions on the centre-periphery axis as predictors of media preferences through a logistic regression using data from the latest post-election survey conducted in Catalonia by the Spanish Centre for Sociological Research (CIS). The results underscore that there was a clear segmentation of audiences according to national identities: whereas citizens with nationalist inclinations preferred to consume Catalan media, non-nationalists preferred Spanish media. In addition, national identity was the most important explanatory factor for radio and television preferences, as opposed to the written press. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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The International Exhibition of Furniture and Interior Design, held in Barcelona in 1923, not only had the furniture as documentary evidence of the uses, ways and means and ways of life. The show organizers also served to reconstruct the History of Spain and Catalonia from the Middle Ages to the XVIII century through the eight “rooms” that formed the Archival Section. Through this scenery we perceive the identity and values ​​of the cabinet anthropological and cultural “product” of societies, demonstrating a dramatic and theatrical sense that contrasts with the archaeological and rigorously “scientific” view of the past. From the Catalan perspective, the meaning of the exhibition took on a ‘nationalist’ meaning attached to the Spanish which was seconded by the organizers and reviled by critics, closer to independence secessionist.

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The mobilization of water has been key for the reconfiguration and modernization of the Spanish state. During the Francoist dictatorship (1939–1975), the hydro-social reengineering of Spain was central to Franco’s political mission but failed to provide for subnational, regionalist aspirations which subsequently pursued their own agendas for water development. In this paper we examine the (failed) project of transferring water from the Rhône River in France to Barcelona promoted by the regional government of Catalonia as an example of using large infrastructures in order to strengthen and consolidate the role of Catalonia as a nation. While we basically concur with Swyngedouw's arguments on the relevance of water for building modern nation states we also attempt to expand the debate in at least three points. First, the implications of the Rhône project in the rescaling of water politics away from the Spanish State and closer to the European Union through the production of a new scale of water supply based not on national but on sub-national cooperation. Second, the view of nationalism that may not be as monolithic as Swyngedouw depicts for Spain but more heterogeneous and fragmented as in Catalonia, with important implications for the acceptance of the Rhône project. And finally, the idea that nation building through water development does not necessitate large scale hydraulic works but that may be achieved through smaller scale socioenvironmental projects. These arguments show that particular society- nature relationships (i.e. different approaches to the mobilization of water resources) are fundamental in the process of building political entities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines the development of Wagnerism in late-nineteenth-century Spain, focusing on how it became an integral part of Catalan nationalism. The reception of Wagner's music and ideas in Spain was determined by the country's uneven economic development and the weakness of its musical and political institutions--the same weaknesses that were responsible for the rise of Catalan nationalism. Lack of a symphonic culture in Spain meant that audiences were not prepared to comprehend Wagner's complexity, but that same complexity made Wagner's ideas acceptable to Spanish reformers who saw in the composer an exemplar of the European ideas needed to fix Spanish problems. Thus, when Wagner's operas were first staged in Spain, the Teatro Real de Madrid stressed Wagner's continuity with operas of the past; however, critics and audiences engaged with the works as difficult forms of modern music. The rejection of Wagner in the Spanish capital cleared the way for his ideas to be adopted in Catalonia. A similar dynamic occurred as Spanish composers tried to meld Wagner into their attempts to build a nationalist school of opera composition. The failure of Tomás Bréton's Los amantes de Teruel and Garín cleared the way for Felip Pedrell's more successful theoretical fusion of Wagnerism and nationalism. While Pedrell's opera Els Pirineus was a failure, his explanation of how Wagner's ideals and nationalism could be fused in the treatise Por nuestra música cemented the link between Catalan culture and Wagnerism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the history of Modern Europe, islands have generally been considered as passive spaces. Historically, however, Mediterranean island societies have played important--and often active--roles in the formation of nation-states and in nation-building processes. Little attention has been paid to the ways in which island societies have affected mainland nationalism. This article argues that Mediterranean islands offered rhetorical and symbolic elements that proved useful for the construction of mainland European national identities, largely because islandness, from a continental perspective, was seen as capable of conserving authenticity. This article draws upon the Mediterranean island case studies of Sardinia and Corsica and their relationships to Catalan nationalism, French nationalism, and Italian nationalism as well as wider nation-building processes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite Spain’s neutrality during the First World War, 2000 Spaniards (a thousand of them from Catalonia) fought with the French Foreing Legion. The majority of them were scarcely politicized immigrants living and working in France when the conflict broke out. Catalan separatism used the enlistment of those natives from Catalonia for propaganda purposes. Separatists aimed to internationalize the nationalist cause and sought support from the Allies. The creation of a Catalan Committee of Brotherhood in Barcelona and a Spanish Patronate of Brotherhood in Madrid distorted the life of those combatants. Through the correspondence maintained with one or both organizations the volunteers from Catalonia became aware of their national identity. They realized that modelling their national adscription to the Spanish or the Catalan project could be useful to obtain parcels, with first aid products, food, money and newspapers, from one or both committees. This paper explores this process and shows the instrumentalization of self-identities during the First World War among Spaniard combatants. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

During the 20th century, several outstanding Catalan politicians became famous after being judged in court. Their trial experience was crucial for the later development of their successful careers. Taking full advantage of the political nature of their court cases, all succeeded in presenting themselves as heroes and/or martyrs of the Catalan cause against Spanish governmental oppression. All subsequently became, or already were, presidents of Catalan autonomous rule: Enric Prat de la Riba, Francesc Macià, Lluís Companys and Jordi Pujol. With a comparative approach, the author attempts to show how politicians have used trials as a stage or as a public platform to gain popularity.

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Copyright of Cuadernos de Historia Contemporanea is the property of Universidad Complutense de Madrid and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The article explores how Catalan nationalists try to cultivate Catalan place in Barcelona, Spain. It highlights how members of Esquerra Republicana de Catalunya (ERC) engage with their city through four visual means including graffiti, stories, flags and architecture. It examines how spaces are made and places are marked by Catalanist actors in Barcelona and discuss issues associated with identity, space and nationality.

This article attempts to outline, in a brief summary, the outstanding features of the longue dur trajectories of the movements, concepts, alliances and politics of Catalan nationalism and their functions for Catalan and Spanish politics through the last century-and-a-half. It tries to characterise the basic lines of the social background, the interests, programme and ideology of the Catalan nationalists, and to look into their achievements and limitations, their internal cleavages and divisions, and their (possible or impossible) alliances with Spanish political forces, and with one another. Particular attention is given to processes of change and to the respective thresholds involved, but also to a significant number of continuities through the various stages of Catalanism and Catalan nationalism from its beginning to the present. Among the continuities can be found divided actors (and rivalries), the long dominance of party politics and pacts (pactisme), and the insistence on self-determination. The most important changes are reflected in an overall movement, over time, from regionalism to autonomism to separatism, usually mixed with characteristic elements of federalism, and notwithstanding the existence of overlapping, parallel and hybrid strategies. The article finishes with an outlook to the threats and models for the 21st century.

Catalans have belonged to composite monarchies, imperial constellations and nation states, and, as a result, have possessed multiple identities and allegiances throughout history. Catalan nationhood first emerged in the Middle Ages. Upon the Union of the crowns of Aragon and Castile in the late fifteenth century, educated Catalans also came to feel 'Spanish', understood as an overarching imperial identity consisting of a community of pure-blooded Catholics on both sides of the Atlantic. Following the loss of most of the American colonies in the early nineteenth century, Spanishness became increasingly regarded as a form of national identification. Various patrias or nationalities of the Iberian Peninsula shared customs, increasingly spoke a similar language, and consisted of citizens and subjects of the constitutional monarchy. During the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, Catalans possessed dual identities - as Catalans and Spaniards - which proved mutually reinforcing. At the same time, ongoing and age-old rivalries between Catalans and Castilians over the direction of the state harboured the seeds from which a regionalist and ultimately an ambiguous nationalist movement would spring.

This paper attempts to explain why, in Barcelona during World War I, Catalan white-collars a part of them radicalised their Catalan nationalism positions and can be considered the cradle of Catalan separatism. In order to accomplish it, the article provides an overview of the origins and social background of Catalan white-collars and their relationship with bourgeois and blue-collar workers. The analysis presents the major pillars of the separatist white-collars and it depicts the profile of the enemies ofthis ideology: Spanish ultra-nationalism. Although references to previous periods are made, the article focuses on the WWI period (1914-1919) when the process took place.