A cross and four stripes the revival of nationalism in contemporary Scotland and Catalonia

Abstract

The thesis aimes to demonstrate that the contemporary nationalist movements in advanced capitalist countries are not an accidental occurrence or a coincidence. It looks for ways to explain this nationalist revival by identifying common causal processes, and concentrates on the cases of Scottish and Catalan nationalism. However, it is not possible to identify a single theory which could explain the recent growth of sub-state nationalism in all advanced industrial countries. Therefore, a framework of analysis is suggested which aims to replace the classical Marxist model of base - superstructure relations with a triangular model of civil society, state and economy, which does not assume deterministic relationship between the three constructs. Rather than seeing political action as determined by economic structures, the framework concentrates on the changing relationships between state, civil society and economy, and examines political action in the light of these processes. Within this framework, the revival of Scottish and Catalan nationalism is analysed in a historical perspective. It is argued that in each case, the constellation of relationships and processes which characterise advanced capitalist society lead to a politicisation of. national identity. How the people become politicised, and what the result of nationalist mobilisation is, depends on specific historical circumstances.