Essay on European Nationalism Case Study---Catalan

Nationalism was formed with the idea that a nation is made up of people who are joined together by common language, customs, cultures and history. It held the belief that one should be loyal to the people of their nation, not a king or empire. Nationalists believed that people of a single nationality should unite under a single government. The concept of Nationalism emerged in the French Revolution and was spread to the rest of Europe by Napoleon’s conquests.

Nationalism has played a crucial role in world history over the past centuries. It continues to do so today. For many, nationalism is indelibly associated with some of the worst aspects of modern history, such as the destructive confidence of the Napoleon’s army and the murderous pride of Nazi Germany. Large numbers of people, descent in their hearts, have carried out unbelievable atrocities for no better reason than their nation required them to. Authoritarian and totalitarian regime have crushed dissent, eliminated opposition, and trampled on civil liberties in the name of the nation.

The first important political issue Spain is facing since a long time is the independence of Catalonia. There is a strong movement in Catalonia about being independent. The main symbol is the Estelada flag, which is blue and red. Catalonian people consider themselves different from other Spaniards for many reasons. Historically, since 1150, Catalonia was independent until the reign of King Philip V because Catalonia lost the war of the Spanish Succession in 1714 ensuing in the birth of the modern Spain. Spain government tried to oppress the Catalan culture until 1931. Moreover, after the victory of the General Franco, he took the control of Spain, and he had the goal to destroy Catalan separatism. He banned the language Catalan. People of Catalonia showing opposition to his regime were killed or exiled. Culturally, speaking the same language regroup people together, but they have a reputation for being hard-working people. The economic reason is the most important reason why Catalonia wants to be independent. Catalonia was powerful thanks to its port and its trade in goods. Now, the region adapted to the modern needs, and the region became powerful financially with its services and hi-tech companies. The government of Spain taxed the region of Catalonia for around 8% of its GDP. Because Catalonia is the most prolific region in Spain, in 2010 the amount of taxes paid equaled €16,000,000,000. Instead of reinvesting these taxes in Catalonia, the government reinvests it in poorer regions of Spain. Catalonia is suffering about its schools, roads, health services, and infrastructures. This amount of taxes makes the region of Catalonia the highest taxed region in Europe. This issue creates a lot of frictions in the country. People from Catalonia feel so much different from Spanish people that it created an atmosphere of hate between

It will then review self-determination as the common driver towards secession. Next, it will give an overview of the two state systems: a federation and a unitary state, in order to better examine its role in secession. The cases of Quebec and Catalonia will be analyzed in order to confirm this hypothesis; Canada is a federation while Spain is a unitary state, thus making the secession movements of Quebec from Canada and Catalonia from Spain very different. Finally, it will seek to explain that the state system by which these two ethnic minorities are governed have direct impact on how their movement towards independence will

The Spanish civil war of 1936-1939 was an important conflict in Spain’s history. This war was initiated by a military revolt led by General Francisco Franco on the 17 July 1936 and ended with Franco’s victory on the 1 April, 1939. This victory resulted in the replacement of the Second Spanish Republic with the conservative dictatorship of Franco. This conflict triggered the clash of the various cultures and ideologies within Spain. One important example of an ideological clash was that of Communism versus Fascism. This clash was so important that, based on an analysis of the level of involvement of Fascist and Communist factions in said clash, one must concede that the conflict between Communism and Fascism was represented to a great

The Spanish Civil War is the name given to the struggle between loyalist and nationalist Spain for dominance in which the nationalists won and suppressed the country for the following thirty nine years. However, because of the larger political climate that the Spanish Civil War occurred in, it is impossible to view the war as a phenomenon contained within one nation. Despite its obvious domestic orientation as a civil war it was a major international conflict. The reason for this, I would maintain, is the political dogma which surrounded the war. This essay takes the form of a political survey of the

In “Negotiating Spain and Catalonia: Competing Narratives of National Identity,” author Fernando Leon Solis examines the various motivational factors for Catalonia’s push for autonomy within Spain. The author makes a compelling case as to how and why Catalonia is attempting to gain autonomy. Solis believes that the main motivation for Catalonian autonomy is the conflict over the definition of Catalan identity, which, Catalans believe, can only fully be established under regional autonomy. Solis argues that if the Catalan National political party, Convergencia I Unio, can come to an agreement with the majority party in parliament, Partido Popular, then Catalonia may receive regional autonomy. Additionally, Solis believes that the Catalans are not seeking national independence, but rather they wish for a high level of autonomy within Spain. It is important to

The transition was an event that took place in Spain. The transitional period’s international significance was unlike the international context of the Spanish Civil War. Still, the U.S. and the world understood how significant the death of Franco affected Western Europe and the creation and ratification of the 1978 Constitution. For example, the U.S. State Department Central files at the National Archives has reports of the Embassy in Madrid. These reports, along with FRUS, had the attention of a superpower to the impact of the Spanish transition. Analysis of the transition in an international context in important because of the comparisons made to Spain’s transition to other authoritarian dictatorships transitioning to democracy in the twentieth century. Spanish newspaper publications played a major role in the transition thanks to an increase push for the freedom of the press. El País and Cambio 16 had significant and numerous reports on the events since its first issue during the transition. El Socialista, the socialist party’s newspaper, had a vital role in the PSOE’s platform that led to their victory in

On July 18, 1936, General Francisco Franco led a rebellion of Spanish nationalist troops provoking the Spanish civil war. Catalonia pushed for autonomy but was overrun by Franco’s forces, resulting in the collapse of Republican resistance in Spain. Franco’s dictatorship crushed the political opposition and suppressed Catalan’s culture, language, and autonomy. In 1975, the death of Franco restored Spain to democracy under a new constitution, which recognized the existence of national sectors within Spain but not as a formal federal state. As a result, Spain’s administration presented Catatonia a statue of political autonomy and recognizing its nationality. However, these results were not enough according to the region’s current political

region of Catalonia itself, its country Spain, and those watching the events unfold from around

Finally, relationships and practices discussed are connected at various levels with the broader discourse which is transmitted to the public and interacts with which returns the ‘system’. Originally, the indignados’ identity is built on a series of specific demands –fight against unemployment, housing rights and quality public services, among others– that need not necessarily relate to the ‘submission’ of the political powers to ‘markets’. At the time in which the movement ‘took’ the Spanish streets and identity began to be constructed around ‘the political’, each of these demands was no longer the simple sum of their individuality, but their articulation in an open system of differential relations.

Nationalism at its core is the support of a country. The goal of a country is to have some sort of resonance within the individuals that reside there that call themselves citizens. If the citizens don’t feel any connection with their country, they may move to find one that they feel closer too. Once found, they may support the country over others, defend it within conversations of politics or just find groups that have the same ideals they do about the country. This papers purpose is to illustrate the pros of nationalism as well as its cons.

Catalonia and Spain have been not really liking each other for about 300 years now because of some war events that happened in 1714. But that feeling increased in the 1800s - 1900s when a new ideological and political movement called “Catalan nationalism” started to appear. That movement said that Catalonia is a nation and it stands out the own values of its historical personality (traditions, culture and language). This belief was in a lot of people’s minds, but it started to increase about 10 years ago when both Spanish and Catalonian government had a fight about some laws. Since that, we could say that the “Independence” has started (we call it like that). Because of this, constant manifestations and protests have been usual in Catalonia (and usually this acts include people with posters and pictures insulting Spain and sometimes also burning and breaking Spanish flags or photos of the King with the Royal Family, etc.) A lot of everyday normal things have changed too. For example, if you speak Spanish in Catalonia, some people might insult you saying you are fascist (Their argument is that in Catalonia you should speak Catalan and not

Although the language is slowly being reintroduced to communities, repression continues because they do not enjoy any political unity, but rather an excess of political institutions and functions. Therefore, the Basques are deeply dissatisfied with both their lack of territorial unity and the inferior status of their language, as well as frustrated by the lack of a more participatory democracy. It is said that, “The Basques on either side of the Franco-Spanish border vote in elections for no fewer than a dozen different institutions,” (Astrain 6). They want to maintain their cultural integrity and be able to decide their own future, but this is increasingly difficult when there is no cohesion. Furthermore, the Basque Country has never been taken into consideration

Nationalism was a debatable issue in 19th century. It had developed differently in Western Europe and Eastern, Central Europe. Western Europe was identified with Civic Nationalism, and nationalism was also seen as an imperialist and economic movement. In Eastern and Central Europe, however, there were many types of nationalism, such as the popular nationalism, that aimed at national liberation and unification. Benedict Anderson has a theoretical definition of nationalism, which aim at correcting previous definitions of nationalism and create a single, universal theory of nationalism. In comparison to Anderson`s definition, Peter Sugar has four different definitions of nationalism that focuses on nationalism in 19th century Europe and tries