Citation

De la Calle L, Jeffrey Miley T. Eur. J. Polit. Res. 2008; 47(6): 710-736.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2008, John Wiley and Sons)

DOI

10.1111/j.1475-6765.2008.00776.x

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

This article builds on recent attempts in political science to illuminate the ‘micro-level’ mechanisms of identity formation. It analyses the dynamics of assimilation in two similar contexts with extremely salient regional-nationalist movements: Catalonia and the Basque Country. It poses the question: In which of the two regions has there been more assimilation of demographically significant, internal-immigrant segments of the population? It tests whether there has been more assimilation in Catalonia – a result expected from the allegedly more ‘civic’ nature of the nationalist movement there. To do so, it draws on and goes beyond the tools provided by David Laitin for operationalising assimilation. It uses existing public opinion surveys to construct and present assimilation indices for both regions. The authors show that though rates of ‘linguistic adaptation’ are higher in Catalonia, such adaptation correlates weakly with assimilation into feelings of subjective identification and the espousal of nationalist views and aspirations more generally. The article goes on to demonstrate that rates of assimilation, when measured using several more robust proxies for the feeling of national identity, are actually lower in Catalonia. The authors then proceed to provide a theoretical explanation for their surprising empirical results. The explanation stresses the causal role of institutional pressures – themselves the product of nationalist coalition-building strategies – in accounting for patterns of linguistic adaptation and of cultural assimilation. Furthermore, it emphasises the relevance of ‘cultural demography’, particularly among natives/insiders, in accounting for the different nationalist strategies and the different intensity as well as different types of institutional pressures faced by immigrants/outsiders in the two regions.