Sub-state identities and immigrant integration policies : the cases of Andalusia and Catalonia

Abstract

Fitting in the line of research that brings together the politics of minority nationalism and that of immigrant multiculturalism, the present paper tries to answer the following research question: To what extent does the presence of a sub-state national identity affect regional immigrant integration policies? Based on the assumption that there is a qualitative difference between regional and minority national identities, the paper develops as a binary comparative study on the immigrant integration policies of a standard region (Andalusia) and a minority nation (Catalonia). The analysis shows that the major differences between their immigrant integration policies concern the discourse rather than the content. In addition, the paper takes Billig’s notion of ‘banal nationalism’ and questions the idea that Andalusian policies are less assimilationist than Catalan policies.