ABSTRACT
Spain is of special interest in that it has seen two strong pro-sovereignty movements, each seeking at different junctures to break with or secure a reconfiguration of the Spanish state. This chapter focuses the behaviour of the Catalan and Basque nationalist movements since the 1990s, although some themes require tracing back to the 1980s in order to be captured adequately. It thus embraces a quarter of a century that has seen much fluidity within these movements after a more settled pattern in the 1980s as the regionalization of Spain into a series of 'autonomous communities' seemed to be undergoing consolidation, although in the Basque case the impression of nationalist moderation was strongly conditioned by the impact of ongoing political violence. Concern not to be associated with the violent Basque separatist organization Eskadi ta Askatasuna (ETA) constrained the political options of the Partido Nacionalista Vasco (PNV), while shared opposition to terrorist activity formed a basis for collaboration with Spanish political parties.
