The Reconfiguration of Nationalist Movements in a Context of Crisis: Evidence from the Case of Catalonia

Abstract

Most theories on nationalism have rested on the assumption that nationalism was related to the nation-state as the main holder of power in our time. It sought to endorse or question its boundaries, but never the legitimacy of the model. Both state nationalists and ethnonationalists shared an understanding of citizenship as a belonging nexus and as a foundation of rights. However, the current processes of globalization and social breakdown driven by neoliberal adjustment policies have favoured the emergence of new nationalist movements that are not defined exclusively in relation to the state, but also in relation to the market by establishing interfaces with other social movements. This essay studies the pro-independence process in Catalonia to examine the readaptation of new nationalist movements in the face of the crisis of the nation-state and the financial crisis. We analyse the evolution of the independence process in Catalonia over ten years, describing both the evolution of discourse and the development of new political practice, as well as a readjustment of the positions of new and classical political actors. We conclude that the rise of the self-determination movement in Catalonia reflects a significant discursive and programmatic shift in ethnonationalism. The new nationalist projects appear as a solution to social problems generated by a nation-state that has lost competence in the framework of the European Union and globalization, and also by anti-social cutback measures.