Unlocking Catalonia’s national identity ‘deadlock’: a social psychological examination of nationhood, unionism and secession in the region

Rooted in the social identity approach, this thesis examines nationhood and its role in explaining secessionism and unionism in Catalonia, an autonomous community of Spain characterised by a so-called “national identity deadlock”. By doing so, this work adds to existing research utilising the Linz-Moreno question to account for the role that national identity plays in explaining political attitudes in the region. But, instead of treating national identities as fixed perceptual givens directly underpinning political attitudes, this thesis follows psychological and interdisciplinary research acknowledging the multifaceted, contested and shifting ways in which national identity manifests in our pluralistic societies. In accounting for this complexity, this thesis employs a mixed-method approach, expanding three empirical studies and bringing together analyses of political mobilisation, lived experience, and the links between attitudes and identity. In all these studies, both pro-independence and pro-union perspectives are considered. Through discourse and performance analysis, Study I explores how pro-independence and pro-union leaders (de)mobilised secession and unity during eight “identity festivals” leading to the celebration of the contentious 2017 independence referendum. In doing so, it investigates how the national in-group, the out-group, and the nature of social reality were constructed, enacted, and performed in political communication. Using interpretative phenomenological analysis, Study II goes beyond “hot” displays of nationalism by attending to “ ” Catalans’ (N = 11) own lived experiences and quotidian understandings of nationhood, unity, and secession “from below”. Finally, Study III provides quantitative evidence to model the links between national identity, independence, unionism, and collective action in Catalonia (N = 1082). This study builds upon the SIRDE model of social change, which has been similarly used in Scotland. Overall, this thesis illustrates fragmented (national) visions of Catalonia’s social reality whereby Catalans’ perceived inability to freely enact and live by their national identities in situations of political deprivation and identity threat is linked to both secessionism and unionism. These findings speak of the importance of fostering identity recognition, autonomy, and felt understanding in pluralistic and divided societies such as Catalonia.