La difícil nacionalización de la derecha española en la primera mitad del siglo XIX

Abstract

The article describes the evolution of Spanish conservative opinion throughout the first half of the nineteenth century, with regard to the rise of nationalism. At first, the new formulation of political legitimacy in nationalist terms was not well received in conservative circles. The revolutionary origins of the theory of national sovereignty was suspect for those who were accustomed to justifying obedience to power in terms of religion and dynastic legitimacy. Around the fourth or fifth decade of the century, in the apogee of Romanticism, and under the influence ofjaume Balmes, Catholic opinion began to accept the new world view in terms of national identities, as long as «Spain» was strictly identified with Catholicism.