Sticking to the script: nationalist contestation and the cost-of-living crisis in plurinational states

Sijstermans, J ORCID: 0000-0002-5082-6877, Anderson, P ORCID: 0000-0002-8156-5542 and Brown Swan, C ORCID: 0000-0002-7448-5966 (2025) Sticking to the script: nationalist contestation and the cost-of-living crisis in plurinational states. Regional & Federal Studies. pp. 1-26. ISSN 1359-7566

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Abstract

In the aftermath of the Covid-19 pandemic, the growth of the transnational cost-of-living crisis provided an impetus for state and substate nationalist cooperation but has also created a window of opportunity for nationalist competition in plurinational states. Capturing the period from 2021 to 2024, this article addresses two key questions: How do state and substate nationalist parties frame the crisis? And how have they instrumentalized it to further their territorial claims? Focusing on Belgium (Flanders), Spain (Catalonia), and the United Kingdom (Scotland), we analyse party manifestos, parliamentary debates, press releases, and public statements. We find that state nationalists predominantly exogenized the crisis, attributing it to global shocks, while substate nationalists endogenized it, blaming domestic policy failures. Both engaged in blame attribution and credit-claiming to bolster their territorial positions. Rather than reshaping territorial debates, the crisis reinforced existing nationalist narratives, highlighting the resilience of constitutional contestation in plurinational states.

Item Type:	Article
Uncontrolled Keywords:	1605 Policy and Administration; 1606 Political Science; Political Science & Public Administration; 4407 Policy and administration; 4408 Political science
Subjects:	H Social Sciences > H Social Sciences (General) J Political Science > JC Political theory
Divisions:	Humanities and Social Science
Publisher:	Taylor and Francis Group
Date of acceptance:	24 October 2025
Date of first compliant Open Access:	4 November 2025
Date Deposited:	04 Nov 2025 09:43
Last Modified:	04 Nov 2025 10:00
DOI or ID number:	10.1080/13597566.2025.2581972
URI:	https://researchonline.ljmu.ac.uk/id/eprint/27476

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