Minority Nationalisms, Radical Right-Wing Political Parties and Anti-immigrant Sentiment: Catalonia and the Breakaway Process

• In Event: 20266 - Right-Wing Politics, Mobilities, and Immigrant Conservatism (Co-sponsored by Section on Political Sociology)

Abstract

This article explores links between the emergence of radical right-wing political parties (RRW), different types of alliances with minority nationalisms (referred to as subnational identifications), and anti-immigrant sentiments (AIS) in Catalonia (Spain). The fundamental question driving this analysis is identifying what mechanisms fuel AIS in contexts where national identification ranges from strong support for Spain’s pro-constitutionalist parties to strong support for parties demanding Catalan independence. More importantly, the case of Catalonia and the process of breaking away from Spain during 2015-2018 might have produced a process of radicalization in which xenophobic attitudes are particularly salient among those exclusionary in their national identity. The case of Catalonia allows examining the emergence of right-wing politics fueling anti-immigrant sentiments and how these discourses shape the perceptions of migrants across different constituencies in Catalonia. We evaluate these processes around breaking up with Spain and examine whether they might have fueled forms of ethnic nationalism. Thus, we hypothesize that radical right pro-independence median voters are more likely to express xenophobic anti-immigrant attitudes because of this political context than other voters. Moreover, the breaking-up process might have also impacted those pro-constitutionalist Spanish voters who voted for a radical right-wing party. Interestingly, we can examine what happened with AIS among those respondents who are more likely to vote for moderate-centered parties and express dual identifications (as Spanish as Catalan).

Authors

• Xavier Escandell, Grinnell College

• Alin Mihai Ceobanu, University of Florida

• Pau Mari-Klose, University of Zaragoza