Variations on “La Raza”: from “Greater Spain” to the “Ibero-American Community”, (Post-)Imperial Perspectives on Spanish National Imaginary

Abstract

The loss of its last American colonies in 1898 presented Spain with the definitive disappearance of its overseas empire. Nevertheless, given that the Spanish decolonization process coincided with the apogee in Europe of the model of expansive nations with an imperial ambition, Spain had to invent a new discourse on the transatlantic link common to the Hispanic American republics which had been its former colonies. Thanks to the action of such movements as 19th century Panhispanism, fin-de-siècle Spanish Americanism, or the more recent Iberoamericanism, America represents an essential and lasting dimension of the Spanish imaginary. As a mythical reference with multiple resonances, or as a more or less elaborated instrument of diplomatical projection, this supranational horizon has been present in the Spanish politics from the middle of the 19th century and throughout the 20th century, despite the ever-changing historical circumstances and the nature of its governments. This paper will question the scope and significance of these (post)imperial discourses, which tried to place Spain in a pluricontinental frame that would offer resonance to its ambitions and could serve as an alternative project to its postimperial restructuring. We organize our analysis through the successive concepts used by Spaniards to articulate this long-sought transnational Panhispanic entity, from the 19th century myth of the «Raza» up to the current concept of «Ibero-American Community», including the British inspired «Greater Spain» or the «Hispanidad» designed by the reactionary circles of 1930’s.