Abstract
Pro-independence movements in the Basque Country and in Catalonia have old historical roots. Whereas in Catalonia the pro-independence social mobilization has recently gained energy, in the Basque Country it seems less prominent nowadays. We explore the psychosocial predictors associated with individuals’ involvement in collective efforts towards independence in both these contexts. We distributed an online questionnaire among Basque (n=132) and Catalonian (n=152) independence supporters. Among the Basque independence supporters, pro-independence collective action tendencies were negatively predicted by perceived social status and identification with Spain, and positively predicted by patriotism and collective efficacy. Among the pro-independence Catalonians, only identification with Catalonia and collective efficacy beliefs predicted pro-independence collective action tendencies. These results are discussed considering historical, political, and socioeconomic factors.
Highlights
We focused on individuals’ identification with their region (Basque Country and Catalonia) and with Spain, on the perceived social status of their region as compared either to the remaining regions and to the dominant region of Madrid, on their beliefs about the supremacy of their region as compared to Madrid, on perceived Central government authoritarianism, on their nationalism and patriotism, and on their beliefs in collective efficacy
A comparison between the means of the two samples on the above predictors suggests that the Basque participants hold stronger beliefs in their region’s superior socioeconomic status in general and compared to Madrid, than do Catalonian participants. This is not surprizing given the fact that this is one of the richest regions of Spain, but especially because of the Statutes of Autonomy of the Basque Country. Participants of both samples reported strong beliefs in their region supremacy compared to Madrid, which is a common feeling among independence supporters, in association with nationalism, agreement with independence, and regional identification, together with a weak identification with Spain
Catalonian participants reported stronger perception of central government authoritarianism (e.g., “The Central Government of Madrid is an authoritarian government.”), than did Basque participants. This is consistent with the persistent refusal, by the Spanish Central Government, to grant more autonomy to Catalonia and with several recent events in which the Central Government was perceived to attempt to oppress Catalonian independence supporters (e.g., Spanish Central Government’s actions during the independence referendum of 2017, or the imprisonment and sentencing of politicians involved in the referendum)
Summary
Given the different pathways followed by the independence movements in the Basque Country and Catalonia and given the current political and socioeconomic context of each regions, the aim of the present study is to explore and to compare the psychosocial predictors and processes associated with citizens’ involvement in proindependence movements in the two regions. The aim of our study was to explore and to compare psychosocial predictors of support for independence in the Basque Country and Catalonia, of nationalist and patriotic sentiments, and, of citizens’ involvement in pro-independence movements. Our goal was not to compare the means of the two independent samples. The aim of our study was to emphasize the importance of considering multiple factors to better understand adhesion to independence movements
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