The problems of the Spanish nation‐building process around 1900
Year: 2004
Type: article
Abstract: Most historians acknowledge that the Spanish nation‐building process started late and was neither very profound nor successful. In general, they point to the slow modernisation process or the unwillingness of the elite to explain the weakness of Spanish nationalism in the decades around 1900. However, there are a number of factors that hampered the nation‐building process in Spain that have not received the attention they deserve. In the first instance, the effects of the loss of the last remnants of the Spanish colonial empire in 1898 have generally been underestimated. Another item is the political clientelism that seriously hindered nation‐building activities. A last observation concerns the role of ideology. Nationalism is not a uniform body of thought. In fact, both the right and the left had their own nationalising strategies, resulting in increasing polarisation.
Source: National Identities
Author: Eric Storm
Institution: University of Amsterdam
Language: English
Topic: Spanish History and Politics
Subfield: History
Field: Arts and Humanities
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W2103243389