A regionalized rebirth? Early Spanish fascism and ethnonational diversity (1922–36)

State-led ultranationalism is widely regarded as a defining feature of fascism. However, the relationship between fascism and regionalism, and the ways in which fascist movements appropriated regionalist principles and regional identity, is an under-researched topic. This article focuses on Spanish fascism in its early stages (1922–36), from the first receptions of Italian fascism to the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War, and examines how its attitudes towards local and regional identities evolved. In theory, fascists acknowledged that Spain was ethnically and linguistically diverse and that this inner plurality was an intrinsic characteristic of Spanish history. Therefore, they supported some form of decentralization. Furthermore, the idea of a ‘non-ethnic’ Spanish nation, based on its imperial character, was promoted, particularly by Falange and its founder, José Antonio Primo de Rivera. However, the polarization of the territorial issue during the Second Spanish Republic led fascists to increasingly embrace state centralism and cultural homogenization.