The spanish extreme right and historical revisionism. nostalgia, concepts and narratives

Abstract

This article delves into the political appropriation of Spain’s national history by the contemporary Extreme Right. The text analyses both the historical discourses and imagery that together form a deeply unhistorical and emotionally charged master narrative. Additionally, we examine the usage of the concept of «empire» tracing its intellectual lineage: initially as an idealistic philosophical concept, then as a falangist political notion developed in the 1940s, and more recently, redefined by philosopher Gustavo Bueno and embraced by numerous nostalgic of the empire. Simultaneously, the article explores the significance of various non-academic mediums, such as historical novels, in disseminating specific historical myths associated with the historical culture of the Extreme Right. Ultimately, we conclude that the historical narrative employed by today’s Spanish Extreme Right is essentially an updating of existing historical myths established during the Franco era, constructing an exclusionary narrative at odds with historical rationality.