The main cultural aspects of the national question in Spain: history and modernity
The article examines the main aspects of the national question in Spain - a multinational state in which the main "indigenous" peoples living there have long coexisted: Castilians, Catalans, Basques, Galicians, etc. with its own national languages, unique ethno-cultural appearance, national identity. The article explores the national question from the point of view that Spain is a country with a very interesting combination of cultures, where various customs, beliefs and traditions of many peoples - Romans, Celts, Iberians, Basques, Arabs and others are mixed. Spaniards are divided into more than 40 ethnic groups, which, in turn, have their own culture, language, traditions, gastronomy and even, some of them, political autonomy. It is emphasized that as a result of the mixing of peoples and ethnicities, a very diverse and heterogeneous ethnic structure of Spanish society was formed. The opinion is analyzed that centrifugal tendencies are consistent for Spain, perhaps because they overshadowed the nineteenth century and part of the twentieth century of Spain. The author notes that there is still a political split in the country, which almost exactly copies the national borders of the former kingdoms, and the Catalans, Galicians and Basques consider themselves quite independent nations. The article touches on the history and main initiatives of the Spanish government to strengthen the participation of autonomous communities in the decision-making process of the European Union. It is stated that European integration has taken place in line with the trend towards globalization of economic, social, personal and political relations. In addition, the process of European integration coincided with the process of decentralization of many States. As a result, the author notes, there is a double process of transferring powers from member states to the EU and powers from national states to their regions. One example of this process of transfer of competencies is Spain.