Spain Nationalism and its Influence on other Nations
Over the past years, the rise in nationalism has been seen in many countries. For instance, the election of Donald Triumph to Brexit and the national policies that exist in Japanese (Bieber, 2018). Nationalism has been reported to affect the global system and the behaviours of people in a country, since, it can be viewed both as traditional and revolutionary hence intimidating the status quo of a country. Consequently, until recently, Spain has been among one of the countries that are believed to be the patriotic sinister evil twin. In Spain, nationalism excessively stresses dedication to the nation-state and its symbol. For instance, according to Florian Bieber, the country, Spain has a sense of its own country which is exceptional and superior to that of any nation. Specifically, this essay aims to explore how the promotion of nationalism in Spain has influenced its behavior and policies towards other nations.
Spanish nationalism takes the took the form of traditionalists and liberalists during the 19th century hence integrating both civic and ethnic features. The Spanish people were divided into groups due to the territorial structure they advocated. According to Florian Bieber (2018), the concept of nationalism seeks difference from other nations and endeavours to reserve the political preference of a nation. Therefore, during the 19th centuries, the Liberals stressed for civic character over the ethnic character in the construction of patriotism. On the other hand, the traditionalists stressed on the cultural factor, Catholicism and political factors of the monarchy. As Diego Murgo illustrates in his article, Spanish nationalism continued to fluctuate between traditional and liberal concepts of the nation. Consequently, by the end of the 18th century, the Basque Country and Catalonia emerged as the alternative sources of the country nationalism, which threatened Spanish nationalism. Altogether, Spanish nationalism erupted from the concept of two groups, which were the liberals and the traditionalists.
Recent studies have shown that Spain nationalism is on the rise as compared to other nations. According to Bieber, the intensity of nationalism can be measured by indicators such as socioeconomic factors and immediate factors such as media and violence against particular groups. By December 2017, Spanish recorded nearly 43 million internet users with Facebook being the leading social media platform. Sources state that there is also an increased number of the free press that investigates matters in corruption, for instance, El Mundo, El Paris and La Razon among others. They also have established Tv programs that are popular digital platforms that air news. Additionally, they have home-produced drama shows such as soap operas that are popular and aired nationwide. Therefore, it is clear that Spanish has grown globally in terms of broadcaster and hence, it can compete with large established commercial operators from other nations.
Nationalism is on the rise globally and this explains the transnational and transcontinental dynamics (Neumann). The new Spanish government that came into power in 2011, initiated numerous reforms to restructure the economic crisis that was facing the Spanish nation. Some of the renovations put in place were concerning the banking system and the capital requirement issues. The new government adopted a new system of tax increment and cut in expenditure to reduce the budget shortage. The new budget implemented was stable and transparent that ensured implementation of regional finances. This implementation has had long-term and active credibility on Spain nation. Thus, it is evident that Spain is a country that takes pride in its national and also offers visions in nationalism.
Additionally, nationalism perception can be categorized according to attitudes and behaviours (Bieber, 2018). He describes nationalism as multidimensional which focuses on the division from others. This kind of difference is based on members of a group and their ideas relative to other forms of identity. Focusing on the Catalan population in Spanish, 50 per cent of them identified as only Spanish while the other 50 per cent felt more Catalan than Spanish. Therefore, it is clear that since the 19th century, the Catalan has successful strengthen their Catalan identity among the Spanish population. This kind of evolution can be described as the hemogenic role of the Catalan government. Therefore, the Catalans show an exceptional characteristic within the Spanish context since they are among one of the urbanized and developed regions in Spanish. Notably, attitude and behaviours significantly contribute to a country’s nationalism positively.
Nationalism and security as stated in the article by Neumann, they ate intertwined. Hence, the current economic crisis is having a significant impact on Spanish foreign policy. First is that it is undermining with the Spanish international credibility and reputation (Neumann, 2018). This is a country that had a great history of success in economics during the 19th century, but with the current Covid-19 crisis its economic is significantly shaking. Its leaders have admitted that there are unable to govern the country effectively due to the economic difficulties, hence, they are seeking help from abroad. Additionally, the budget cut and increase in taxation that was implemented by the current government is severely restricting the available funds for Spain from abroad. Therefore, it is evident that Spain is undergoing an economic crisis, which is as a result of the implementations put in place by the current government.
In conclusion, the new challenges that are faced by the Spanish are likely to change the political ideologies of the Spanish nationalists. As it stands the superiority of the civic fundamentals over the ethnic one has no future in the Spanish constitution. The changing nature of Spanish nationalism in both civic and ethnic cases is likely to remain relevant in the address of evolving Spanish nationalism.
References
Bieber, F. (2018). Is nationalism on the rise? Assessing global trends. Ethnopolitics, 17(5), 519-540.
Muro, D., & Quiroga, A. (2005). Spanish nationalism: Ethnic or civic?. Ethnicities, 5(1), 9-29.
Neumann, I. B. (2018). Security, ethnicity, nationalism. Nations and Nationalism, 24(2), 348-368.