Catalunya, terra d’acollida: Stateless Nationalist Party Discourses on Immigration in Catalonia

Abstract

This chapter aims to explore the interaction between minority nations and immigration through the examination of SNRP discourses in Catalonia. The starting concern is how elements of nationalism appear in the construction of a discourse on immigration. We argue that a party’s stance towards immigration influences the nationalist discourse. We analyse the two SNRP in Catalonia on the basis of party documents and parliamentary debates and interviews with party representatives. A system of categories related to identity is proposed, and the findings confirm the hypothesis that those SNRP with positive stances towards immigration tend to portray their nationalist discourse as civic. With this analysis we seek also to contribute to link two debates: the nationalist theories and the debate on political discourse towards immigrants.