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Radical Left Parties and National Identity in Spain, Italy and Portugal

Rejecting or Reclaiming the Nation

  • Book
  • © 2023

Overview

Authors:
  1. Jacopo Custodi

    1. Classe di Scienze Politico Sociali, Scuola Normale Superiore, Florence, Italy

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  • Draws on discourse analysis, semi structured interviews and participant observation
  • Brings together nationalism studies and party politics scholarship
  • Shows the relationship between the radical Left and national identity to be complex and multifaceted

Part of the book series: Palgrave Studies in European Political Sociology (PSEPS)

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Table of contents (8 chapters)

  1. Front Matter

    Pages i-xix
    Download chapter PDF

  2. Introduction

    • Jacopo Custodi
    Pages 1-26

  3. Conceptual Framework

    • Jacopo Custodi
    Pages 27-53

  4. Setting the Scene: The Radical Left and the Nation

    • Jacopo Custodi
    Pages 55-85

  5. The Spanish Case. What Is Spain? Franco’s Legacy and Podemos’ Patriotism

    • Jacopo Custodi
    Pages 87-126

  6. The Italian Case: Italy’s Wheezing Left Between the Shadow of Its Past and New Challenges

    • Jacopo Custodi
    Pages 127-166

  7. The Portuguese Case. Left-Leaning Banal Nationalism in Portugal?

    • Jacopo Custodi
    Pages 167-198

  8. Comparing the Results

    • Jacopo Custodi
    Pages 199-222

  9. Conclusion

    • Jacopo Custodi
    Pages 223-236

  10. Back Matter

    Pages 237-266
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Keywords

About this book

This book investigates how the radical left navigates the terrain of nationalism. Traversing Spain, Italy and Portugal, this in-depth study examines how radical left parties either embrace, rebuff or reshape nationalistic sentiments. From Spain’s Podemos grappling with Franco’s legacy, Italy’s radical left switching from anti-fascist patriotism to cosmopolitanism, to Portugal’s revolutionary echoes in left-leaning banal nationalism, the book offers comprehensive insight into the often-overlooked relationship between radical left politics and national identity. Through discourse analysis, interviews and participant observation, it delves into the reasons behind certain political positions and how they manifest discursively. A must-read for those eager to decipher the crossroads of national identity and left-wing politics in contemporary Europe.

Reviews

“Radical Left Parties and National Identity in Spain, Italy and Portugal offers a rich and nuanced analysis of the relation between the radical Left and the nation. Custodi’s sharp analysis sheds light on the complexities of the diverse positions of the radical Left towards the nation and of the historical and contemporary explanations for these positions. This elegantly written book is a must-read for anyone interested in the radical left or nationalist politics.” (Benjamin de Cleen, Professor, Communication Studies Department, Vrije Universiteit Brussels, Belgium)

“Understanding the complex and changing relations progressive actors have with the conception of the nation and the practices of nationalism is all the more relevant in our intense times. Focusing on the ways in which left-wing parties in Italy, Portugal and Spain conceptualize national identities, this important volume discusses the structural and conjunctural factors that influence different discourses around the nation.” (Donatella della Porta, Founding Dean of the Faculty of Political and Social Sciences, Scuola Normale Superiore, Italy, and Director of Centre of Social Movements Studies (COSMOS))

“The question of the nation has been a longstanding issue of debate on the radical left, as it attempted to reconcile the Marxist focus on class identity and suspicion of nationalism with the reality of modern national-popular polities in which national identity naturally constitutes a decisive symbolic battleground. This book documents how this dilemma has made a strong comeback on the contemporary radical left in Europe, with forces such as Podemos and Bloco de Esquerda trying to thematise national identity in inclusive and progressive ways, as a necessary counterpoint to the rise of the rabid nationalism of the far-right. Thoroughly researched and persuasively argued, this is an important contribution to contemporary political debates on left renewal, populism and democracy.” (Paolo Gerbaudo, Director of the Centre for Digital Culture, King's College London, UK)

Authors and Affiliations

  • Classe di Scienze Politico Sociali, Scuola Normale Superiore, Florence, Italy

    Jacopo Custodi

About the author

Jacopo Custodi is a Research Fellow in Political Science at Scuola Normale Superiore in Florence, Italy. He has authored numerous scholarly essays and scientific articles that explore the intricate relationship between the left and national identity.

Bibliographic Information

  • Book Title: Radical Left Parties and National Identity in Spain, Italy and Portugal

  • Book Subtitle: Rejecting or Reclaiming the Nation

  • Authors: Jacopo Custodi

  • Series Title: Palgrave Studies in European Political Sociology

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-48926-6

  • Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan Cham

  • eBook Packages: Social Sciences, Social Sciences (R0)

  • Copyright Information: The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2023

  • Hardcover ISBN: 978-3-031-48925-9Published: 20 January 2024

  • Softcover ISBN: 978-3-031-48928-0Due: 12 March 2024

  • eBook ISBN: 978-3-031-48926-6Published: 19 January 2024

  • Series ISSN: 2946-6016

  • Series E-ISSN: 2946-6024

  • Edition Number: 1

  • Number of Pages: XIX, 266

  • Number of Illustrations: 9 b/w illustrations

  • Topics: Political Sociology, Political Theory, Political Communication

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