Just a Matter of Identity? Support for Independence in Catalonia

Abstract

The Catalan case is usually depicted in the literature as a typical example of a nation without state with a predominant civic nationalism, where the importance of dual identities tends to generate claims for self-government short of independence. However, the recent evolution of Catalan and Spanish politics shows that independence receives relevant levels of support even among groups expressing some degree of identification with the state identity. This paper aims to fill the gap in this relatively unexplored dimension of Catalan nationalism by analysing the factors that help explain support for independence in Catalonia. The results of the research point to the importance of identity in explaining attitudes towards independence but also that it receives widespread support across Catalan society, suggesting much more complex relations.

Keywords:

• Nationalism
• secession
• Catalonia
• national identity

Notes

1 The survey analysed here is published by the Centre d′Estudis d′Opinió (Center for Opinion Studies), a governmental organization in charge of developing official opinion polls belonging to the Catalan government. The study used here corresponds to the Barometer of Jul 2011, with the reference CEO-652.

2 Recent data on the Scottish case can be found at http://www.natcen.ac.uk/study/scottish-social-attitudes-2011#1, accessed 14 Feb 2012. For the Basque Country, see http://www.ehu.es/euskobarometro/, accessed 27 Aug 2012.

3 In the elections of November 2010 a new pro-independence coalition—Catalan Solidarity for Independence (SI)—entered the parliament with four representatives, later splitting into two subgroups. In the elections of November 2012 the coalition lost their representatives, while a new pro-independence, radical left movement—Popular Unity Candidates (CUP)—obtained three representatives in the regional parliament.

4 A new party entered the Catalan parliament in the elections of 2006 with three representatives, the Citizen's Party, which does not define Catalonia as a nation and actually presents itself as a non-nationalist or anti-nationalist party.

5 For a comprehensive characterization of contemporary Catalan nationalism, see Guibernau (2004).

6 Meadwell refers to ‘sincere’ secessionist as opposed to political ‘opportunism’. This distinction can be useful to understand cases such us the Lega Norte, where a political movement uses ‘nationalist’ repertoires to take advantage of the north–south cleavage structure of opportunities. See also Máiz (2003) or Seymour et al. (1998).