Suchergebnisse

Highlights one of the main problems of Galicia as a nation: defining the real terms of the relationship between public power and society. The powers and resources of the Xunta have grown very quickly. The Popular Party's long tenure in public office has stimulated the creation and consolidation of networks of exchange akin to forms of clientelism. The presence and involvement of the regional government is very high, creating a societal dependence on it. Suggests that a key question for the future will be to re-define these relationships in the context of scarce public resources. (Original abstract - amended)

Reviews the recent evolution of Galicia, Spain, as a region with very high levels of autonomy. The idea is that the regional institutional setting developed to administer these levels of autonomy & resources plays a critical role in the process of national identification & nation construction in Galicia. This new institutional setting is one of the relevant variables that explain recent economic, political, & social changes in Galicia. 8 Tables, 3 Figures. Adapted from the source document.

The article begins with the genesis of oil extraction and usage in Galicia, and concentrates on the interwar period. It shows the evolution of the usage of oil, from lighting towards combustion engines, and follows the structural problems this posed for the sector. It maps out extraction between particular oil fields, and explores how the profile of production changed over time. Finally, it deals with the role of foreign capital, the processes of monopolisation, and the impact of the sector on the local society.

Galicia seems to offer a typical case of an ethnically distinct area where the absence of industrial modernization, emigration, & rural clientelism contributed to blocking any chance of social success for ethnonationalism. However, it is suggested here that deep changes since the 1960s & 1970s, together with the ever-increasing pragmatism shown by the nationalist movement, have made it possible for Galician nationalists to undergo a strong electoral growth throughout the 1990s. The internal dynamics of the nationalist consciousness & the articulation of civil society still support the electoral advances. 1 Table. Adapted from the source document.