The English Culture Club article of the month
Nationalism in Spain and Catalonia
Identity can often be hijacked for narrow political purposes, creating uniformity and an “us v them”dynamic that works against embracing diversity
Later this month, we will celebrate Sant Joan’s Eve and no matter where I am, I always look forward to it. The annual midsummer party is celebrated around the world, especially in Quebec, where it’s called Saint-Jean-Baptiste Day, and where John the Baptist is the patron saint of French Canada. Here, June 23 and 24 are officially known as the National Holiday. The day has a recent history of being rather political, as it has come to represent Quebec nationalism. This may stem directly from the fact that throughout Canada it is primarily celebrated in Quebec. Despite the fervent nationalism in Catalonia, Sant Joan has still managed to remain about the coca and the bonfires, and I count that as a win.
I’ll be spending my Sant Joan in Canada, and celebrating my Catalan roots, but my enjoyment will be more from the cava and less from any notions of nationalism. What a dirty word “nationalism” has become, and with good reason. Catalan independence fights back against the Spanish version of it, yet perhaps fails to recognise the significance of Catalonia’s own vehement nationalism. Luckily, it’s not as violent as the Spanish type, monarchical, unionist, and frankly quite trite, trumpeting its own grandiosity. Simply put, the bull and the donkey, respectively, really do seem to be the right animals for each side.
I was in Munich a few years back and I got into an argument with a guy from Madrid who tried to convince me that there was only one unifying sense of Spanish identity, binding everyone together in the same fate. Of course, he failed to realise the danger of his comments, particularly in the way it echoes history, and how grossly inaccurate it is. I’ve written about this before, so I’ll add that such statements, while ridiculous, only add to further alienating those who are actively trying to become part of a society-either Catalan or “Spanish”.
Identity politics
It must be blatantly obvious why imposing identity upon people begins as problematic, and quickly descends down a perilous path: it means stripping people of an identity they have built for themselves. Arguments about national identity between Spain and Catalonia blatantly ignore minorities and disadvantaged groups, unapologetically shifts focus away from issues surrounding minority rights, uses broad strokes to paint everything in economic terms, and thus waters down what identity politics are, and should be, about. Indeed, it creates a “universality” akin to the one touted by Spaniards.
Identity politics should remain a centrepiece in sociopolitical discourse and be celebrated for focusing on marginalised groups, but it must involve Kimberlé Crenshaw’s idea of intersectionality to be aware of differences within such groups.
What is wrong, is when we believe that our identity supersedes someone else’s. It is difficult for me to see where one ends and the other begins and it has all the makings of congealing into an ugly, antiquated, conservative “us v them” doctrine. On top of that, it is eerily religious in tone, and we all know how attempts at ensuring uniform orthodoxy turned out for Spain last time! (Read: The Inquisition) Consider the last seven years where this has become normalised in Catalonia. Luckily, it hasn’t had the effect it has in the US, and almost had in France. Make no mistake, the common denominator is rabid nationalism. Historically, fiery national pride was functional in persuading people to go to war and die for their country; today that seems (almost) absurd.
This strategy is running into a few obstacles, namely, the government. That’s because the old Spanish elite were the literal and political parents of the current elite. Why would power shift or take a new and inclusive form when it doesn’t suit their needs? Of course we are prevented from redefining our identities. They present a huge risk to the mainstays of power, which thrive on inequality, by encouraging small groups to seek out equality. It may actually be in the right’s interests to sustain an argument on Catalan independence. This way it can continue to play the “constitutionality” card, ensuring its role as a defender of Spanish democracy, and subsequently its national identity, by playing to basic nationalist pride. Sadly, it works. How much longer will we allow ourselves to be distracted this way?