Victimhood narrative in the Catalan independence discourse

International and domestic conflicts are often accompanied by competing victimhood narratives, which are used by both sides in order to legitimise their claim through recognition by the wider international community. This article focuses on the Catalonian victimhood narrative, actively utilised by the secessionist parties of Catalonia in the 2010s. The research is based on the parliamentary records of the Congress of Deputies of Spain between July 2016 and November 2017. The analysis suggests that the underlying motives behind promoting this narrative were not only political mobilisation of the population and recognition of victimhood claims by the European Union, but also seeking for wider autonomy within the Spanish state. The term "victimhood" has seen use in forensic science as well as in international relations, where it gained traction with the emergence of identity studies. Meanings attributed to the term by scholars can vary, but nevertheless, the key characteristic of victimhood in political science, as opposed to forensic science, is that to form a victimhood narrative, an occurrence of crime or a traumatic event is not required: it's enough for a victim or a group of victims to perceive the situation as unjust. This perception can form a common identity based on the same traumatising experience. As the analysis of parliamentary records suggests, the victimhood narrative in the 2010s Catalonia was constructed around several premises, including encroachment on Catalonia's authority, high regional taxes that aren't adequately compensated by the public investment, and overall lack of mutual trust. After the referendum crisis in October 2017, the narrative was expanded to include police brutality and repression accusations towards the Spanish state. The paper concludes that the purpose of the victimhood narrative in Catalonia was threefold. First, it was used to expand on Catalan identity and mobilise the population for the October referendum. Second, the narrative attempted to appeal to the wider international community in the ongoing conflict with the Spanish state. Third, the victimhood narrative was used as a means to reach higher autonomy within Spain. This idea is supported by the consideration of the international context that rendered secession close to impossible, as well as the contents of the parliamentary records. The author declares no conflicts of interests.

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