Naród, narodowość, nacjonalizm we współczesnej Europie
Nation, Nationality and Nationalism in Contemporary Europe

Basque and Catalan Identity Narratives

Summary/Abstract: This article explores the identity processes that are currently taking place in the Basque Country and Catalonia. Its main focus is the Basque/Catalan identity which is understood as a form of local, regional and/or national form of collective identification. In particular, the paper analyzes how contemporary Basques and Catalans define, declare and manifest their collective identity, whether they see it as a national identity (or not), and what the political implications of these identity choices are. Based on the results deriving from the latest research on self-identification of the members of the Basque and Catalan society, this article explores the relationship between 1) Basque/Catalan local identity, which is a wide category that encompasses various forms of socio-cultural identification, 2) Basque/Catalan national identity, which is based on the conviction that Basques/Catalans are not just nationalities (have important and particular social and cultural features), but they are in fact nations of their own (this identity has therefore an important political dimension), and 3) Basque/Catalan nationalistic identity, which is understood as a form of identity, that resides on the belief that the Basques and Catalans constitute separate national communities, and this very fact is used to fuel certain rhetoric and ideology: separate nationhood becomes the basic element of identification and social mobilization.

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