No abstract

No abstract

This essay aims to explore the question of the difference between 'Eastern' and 'Western' European nationalism in historical terms, and to inquire whether it makes sense to refer to a dichotomy between ethnic and civic nationalism intrinsically related to that divide, ascribing them to certain areas of Europe according to historians' own 'mental maps'. Taking into account the existing links between nationalism, national history and the emergence of history as an academic discipline, an exploration of the 'territorial entanglements' still evident in a large part of the scholarly literature will attempt to highlight the key issue as to whether it is possible to identify a 'European way' of studying nationalism and territorial identities, or whether it is more convenient to proceed to a 'reprovincialization' of European nationalism(s).

This article attempts to offer a comparative overview of the different regionalist discourses that, from the liberal revolution to the Civil War, have coexisted under the common banner of Spanish nationalism. Instead of their being considered merely as forerunners of stateless nationalisms, it is argued that no one-way evolution from the region to an alternative nation is acceptable. On the contrary, many political actors in Spanish history considered the promotion of regional identity and political regionalism to offer the best means of defending Spanish nationalism. Regionalism was shared by most traditionalist and most republican nationalists, while even among the theoreticians of authoritarian Spanish nationalism it was possible to find the idea that the region was the most ‘natural’ expression of the Spanish patria (fatherland). Nevertheless, regionalist discourse and mobilization also generated dynamics of mesoterritorial identity-formation which led to the articulation of peripheral nationalist discourse.

No abstract