Is Catalan nationalism really civic and Basque nationalism ethnic?

Abstract

One way of typifying nationalism, with regards to the type of nation one seeks, differentiates between political, territorial or civic nationalism and ethnic or cultural nationalism. Yet, nationalism, particularly in the case of stateless nations, cannot be understood if we ignore the political aspect, which does not imply interpreting it in a politicised fashion. In my opinion, such is the case with Catalan and Basque nationalism, which are presented as opposed models: the former, civic and inclusive; and the latter, ethnic and exclusive. However, their conception of the nation is quite similar, and what really separates them is political policy. The characterization of nationalism as inclusive or exclusive is thus related to its being politically radical and not to its nature as a nation. I believe that the nation and the national question have characteristics of their own, and evaluations made on politics should not be applied in a thoughtless fashion when referring only to the subject of the nation. In consequence, we cannot use categories pertaining to society (inclusive-exclusive) or to the nation (ethnic-political or civic) to explain differences pertaining to the political field.