Who Are the Spaniards? Nationalism and Identification in Spain

National and ethnic identity are the subject of a wide range of sociological theories. Our analysis focuses on nationalism and identity in Spain. Our data come from a probability sample of respondents in a 1992 survey. We employ measures of individual attachment to Spain that tap two dimensions: sense of belonging to Spqin andfeelings of morale associated with this identity. We estimate a measurement model that substantiates these two dimensions. We also present and test different hypotheses about the roles of ethnic origin, economic development, economic specialization, and education on attachment to Spain. Our statistical analyses reveal that respondent's ethnic origin (birth and residence in a culturally distinct region) and education have the strongest negative influences on attachment. Among the macro structural conditions, economic specialization of a region has the greatest negative impact on attachment. Furthermore, our descriptive analysis of the regional patterns of sense of belonging and feelings of morale with respect to Spain reveal some predictable patterns and some surprises in the regional rankings. Social scientists have proposed a wide range of theories to explain national identity and ethnic or nationalist political mobilization. These efforts respond in part to the intensity that ethnic and nationalist conflict has reached in states that formed at the conclusion of the two world wars (e.g., Yugoslavia, Czechoslovakia, and the Soviet Union), in states that emerged out of the decolonization process (e.g., Rwanda), and, more surprisingly, in old Western European states such as Great