Contesting Spain? : The Dynamics of Nationalist Movements in Catalonia and the Basque Country

Contesting Spain? The Dynamics of Nationalist Movements in Catalonia and the Basque Country offers an exploration of the dynamics behind contemporary shifts in the orientation of nationalist parties and movements with reference to Catalonia and the Basque country in Spain. The chapters were originally papers presented at a workshop held at the Barcelona Centre for International Affairs (CIDOB) in September 2014 as part of a research project on ‘The Dynamics of Nationalist Evolution in Contemporary Spain’, whose purpose was to gain a better understanding of why regionally-based nationalist movements have experienced shifting relationships with the Spanish state over time, in some periods appearing content with accommodation between central and regional government and at other times pushing to go beyond autonomist demands to seek sovereignty or even attain full independence.

The volume is one of the first to focus comparatively on the rise of pro-sovereignty politics in mainstream nationalist parties, whose evolution has also featured more traditional impulses towards territorial accommodation within the wider state. Using the exceptionally rich laboratory provided by Spain, the book explores the dynamics behind shifts in the orientation of nationalist parties and movements once they have established themselves as electorally successful at regional level. Dimensions to the analysis include: the interaction of nationalist parties with central government; pressures from their support bases; competition between parties within the home region; and international influences.

This title is innovative in bringing together experts with a range of disciplinary approaches: primarily political scientists but also historians and scholars located at the cusp between social sciences and humanities.

Richard Gillespie is Professor of Politics at the University of Liverpool where he co-directs the Europe and the World Centre. Before taking up the Chair at Liverpool, he held posts at the universities of Newcastle-upon-Tyne, Portsmouth, Warwick and Oxford. His current research interests involve the comparative study of nationalist movements in Europe, as reflected in a major project on Catalan and Basque nationalist parties funded by the Economic and Social Research Council of the UK (ES/J007854/1).

Caroline Gray is a PhD candidate in politics at the University of Liverpool. Her research, funded by the Economic and Social Research Council of the UK, investigates the impact of the regional financing models in Spain on Basque and Catalan territorial politics.