Secessionism and the European Union by Duerr Glen M.E.;

Author:Duerr, Glen M.E.;
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Lexington Books

Ethnic

1

7.69

Civic

12

92.31

Policy Areas: Whether CiU has Transitioned to Civic Nationalism?

Catalonia, like other regions, has a unique history. There are factors in the region that exist in other regions, and other factors that do not. However, given the significant layers of immigration and migration into Catalonia, the society, especially in the larger cities, is very diverse. Whether or not CiU has transitioned to civic nationalism is important for the society.

The first critique of CiU is the same as all other parties investigated in this analysis—the sense of “window dressing” when it comes to ethnicity. Given a survey of the CiU website, and an examination of elected officials in the party, there were very few people of ethnic minority groups represented, and even then, only at the municipal level (see ciu.cat and convergents.cat). There is more of a nuance in Spain in that people from across the country have moved (or were highly encouraged to move under Franco) into Catalonia. As a result, CiU has significant diversity when considering the historic origins of people in the party—many are historically tied to the rest of Spain, and have become Catalan in the last generation or two. The ability to become Catalan is a component part of civic nationalism.

The second major critique of CiU is that the nationalist movement has an historical basis on language and culture. If Spanish speakers are discriminated against, then there is a component of ethnic nationalism in the society, especially where CiU is in government. Supporting the rights of Spanish speakers in Catalonia is a point of contestation between the Spanish government and CiU.

To investigate the claims of ethnic versus civic nationalism, interviews were conducted in Barcelona, in addition to survey and archival research on the party. From the outset, though, CiU prescribes a position of openness and democracy. For example, on the first page of the English language brochure on CDC is the following statement, which is listed in a bold typeface at the top of the page with statements from former and current leaders, Jordi Pujol and Artur Mas: “We are Catalan democratic and progressive nationalists, we are the people of the Convergència Democràtica de Catalunya and we work for a just, united and liberal society. Catalonia and its people are our priority.” Table 6.2 shows the investigation into ethnic and civic nationalism in Catalonia. The vast majority of the statements pertain to the policy areas of political autonomy and economics, rather than language, culture, and immigration/migration.

Language

In the cavernous confines of one of football’s most majestic spectacles, Camp Nou, the home of FC Barcelona, are the words: més que un club, which means more than a club in English. The nuance is subtle, but the words in Catalan are a slight deviation from “Castilian” Spanish. The connotation, however, is much larger—that FC Barcelona represents and protects Catalan society with strong linkages to CiU, and the Catalan government.

There are differences between Catalan and Spanish, but the two languages have significant similarities. A question often asked by anthropologists is whether two people can understand each other? If not, they speak mutually unintelligible (i.

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