Productive Parochialism: Regionalist Parties and Social Spending in Spain

Abstract

Nationalism was the great scourge of the twentieth century, with dozens of wars and myriad massacres to its credit. Yet at least in Western Europe the warfare state also helped to build the welfare state. When can nationalism be a force for good, a source of social solidarity rather than enmity? Twenty-first century Europe has witnessed the resurgence of powerful regionalist movements, from the United Kingdom to Spain. An examination of detailed municipal spending data from Spain between 2001 and 2015 reveals that in Spain voting for regionalist parties correlates with higher social spending. Localities in which regionalist parties obtain a higher share of the vote, in either municipal or national elections, systematically spend more than comparable localities in which national parties are favored. Further analysis is required to ascertain in which direction causality flows — it may be that more parochially inclined voters favor higher social spending. Alternatively, regionalist parties may choose more intensive spending programs in order to generate support, by asserting their legitimacy, constructing identities and producing organizational resources. Clearly though, available quantitative evidence links regionalist vote share with municipal spending. In recent years, the connection between social services and state-building is discussed more often in the case of aspiring state actors than established ones, as with news accounts of ISIS providing public goods or Hezbollah's health clinics. But what about alternative group identities in the developed world? How does service provision affect identity formation and generate social solidarity at the sub-national level? In a Europe increasingly marked by both the greater decentralization of social services and the growing strength of separatist movements this is becoming a vital question.