Analysis of Nationalism, Inequality, and Conflict in Modern Spain

This essay delves into the multifaceted issues of nationalism and inequality within Spain. It begins by defining nationalism and exploring its complexities in the Spanish context, highlighting the conflicts arising from diverse regional identities like Catalonia and the Basque Country. The essay discusses Fareed Zakaria's perspective on the dangers of rising nationalism, particularly in a globalized world. It then provides examples of historical and current conflicts between nation-states and minority groups, specifically the Basque conflict, and examines the prevalence of inequality in Spain. The analysis covers the impact of inequality on literacy, employment, and economic growth, while also discussing the government's initiatives to address these issues through labor-market policies and financial restructuring.

Running head: JOURNALISM
Journalism
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What is nationalism and how does it play out in Spain?
Nationalism can be defined as an ideology that renders a deep sense of unity to a group of
people, living in one nation, in respect of their linguistic, cultural or historic similarities. As far
as nationalism in Spain is concerned, it is a highly heterogeneous nation that was formed
combining various kingdoms of the Iberian Peninsula. The Catalania and Basque countries also
belong to Spain, and this existence of various minority national identities merging with the
national identity of Spain, have undoubtedly threatened the hegemonic position of Spanish
nationalism. The cultural and linguistic differences amongst the minority national identities have
always created conflict within Spain, and the residents of Catalania as well as Basque have
always felt that they have been mistreated and exploited by the national government of Spain.
These people often fail to identify themselves as Spaniards, and complain about the semi-
independent tax structure, as well as the government’s unwillingness to attach importance to
their regional languages and culture. This has affected the Spanish nationalism, and is preventing
the homogenization of different minority groups within Spain.
Why does Zakaria see danger in the rise of nationalism?
Fareed Zakaria speaks of a darker and much more troubling form of nationalism.
According to him, people across the globe are living in a highly globalized world, whereby the
question of political and national identity is still in the dark. The US, though has always
remained highly complacent about its superior national identity, this form of complacency about
national identity is threatening the future progress of the nation. According to Zakaria, the US
citizens have always believed that people across the world would always look up to them, for
political stability, and financial superiority (Zakaria 2008). However, he points out that the very

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superpower status if America is non-existent in the given situation, as third world nations like
Brazil, India, Mexico and Malaysia are surpassing the nation by developing their economies at
an unprecedented rate. The spirit of nationalism pervading countries like the USA, is only
affecting the country in a negative way.
Give examples of a conflict between nation-states vs. tribal, ethnic, religious groups in
Spain (current or past). Is inequality a problem in Spain? 100
As Spain as a country also comprises of minority national identities, which are distinct
regions with highly distinguishable culture, laws and languages, the country has often
experienced nation-states conflict in the past. One significant example of such a conflict was the
Basque Conflict. Also known as the Spain-ETA conflict, this political conflict spanned in Spain
from the year of 1959 to the year of 2011. This conflict was the example of the first armed
conflict launched by the Basque citizens against the Spanish national independence, in order to
seek independence from both Spain and France. The armed movement against the Spanish
government was launched and organized by Euskadi Ta Askatasuna (ETA), which ultimately
resulted in the death of more than 1000 people, which included the security officers, different
journalists as well as civilians of Spain. Besides, a large number of people were also kidnapped
and injured due to the conflict.
Is inequality a problem in Spain? What crucial role does inequality play?
Inequality is indeed a major problem in Spain, as the country has been announced to have
the most unequal society in entire Europe. While one report suggested that millions of Spanish
people are living in state of “extreme poverty”, another report has claimed that the number of
millionaires living in the country has largely increased.

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The inequality issue is a crucial issue in Spain. This is because, although a few years
back, Spain was being considered to be one of the most economically superior nations of Europe,
generating almost half of the total jobs existent in the euro-zone, owing to the problem of
inequality, its unemployment rate has soared at a steady rate. Besides, family poverty has also
emerged to be a major problem in the present decade. In a list of 24 countries, Spain has been
ranked at the bottom, in terms of literacy rate (Coatsworth 2008). The economic instability has
indeed affected the overall development of the nation.
Where do you see the results of inequality in Spain and how is it being addressed? 100
Spain has recently been experiencing a dramatic increase in the rise of inequality,
becoming the nation with greatest inequality problem amongst all the 27 countries located in he
European Union. As a result of the growing inequality issue, the society is infested with
problems of illiteracy. Lack of educational opportunities has created a serious problem in Spain,
as one in every four Spaniards (between 16 to 65 years) has been found to lack in basic
numeracy skills and literacy (Nicolia and Palencia 2016). As a result, most of the people are
being denied basic educational rights owing to the wide gap of inequality, and this will lead to
unemployment problem in the long run. With the decline in the purchasing power of a large
number of people, the economic growth of the nation will also get threatened. In order to resolve
the problem of inequality in Spain, the government has been taking initiatives to restructure the
savings banks, by injecting more capital, so that more employment opportunities can be created.
The government is also introducing various active labour-market policies and also offering
training to the sime-skilled and unskilled labourers.

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Reference List:
Zakaria, F., 2008. The post-American world. New York, 4.
Coatsworth, J.H., 2008. Inequality, institutions and economic growth in Latin America. Journal
of Latin American Studies, 40(3), pp.545-569.
Nicolini, E. and Ramos Palencia, F., 2016. Comparing income and wealth inequality in pre-
industrial economies. Lessons from Spain in the 18th century.
Linstroth, J.P., 2015. The Basque Conflict Globally Speaking. Nationalism and Intra-State
Conflicts in the Postcolonial World, p.357.