Nation, people and independence: nacionalism as a problem in Catalonia

Abstract

This paper intends to study in depth the different faces of nationalism in connection with the Catalan independence movement. To this purpose, I will try to avoid univocal and essencialist approaches to nationalism. The goal is to explore it from a historical point of view and to problematize from a political perspective the ways and discourses that contributed to the escalation of the Catalan conflict in recent years. In this context, it must be mentioned how certain attempts to go beyond nationalism helped to the growth of independentism. Therefore, I will focus on the history (and limitations) of the expression “un sol poble” (one single people).