Social patriotism: populist glue for a multinational democracy

Abstract

This article defines contemporary social patriotism as a type of welfare nationalism, with characteristics of an achievable civic form of maintenance nationalism. It investigates the presence of this type of nationalism in contemporary Spain, pointing out the novelty of the explicit linkage of patriotism and a reformist agenda by leftist parties. It also argues that social patriotism has the leverage for creating transversal identities within a multinational democracy such as Spain. After testing our hypotheses using qualitative and quantitative data, we discuss the implications of these findings within a wider European context.