Nativist nationalism, cultural homogenisation and bullfighting: VOX’s cultural policy as an instrument for cultural battle (2019–2023)

Abstract

The extreme right’s influence on cultural politics is an issue that has received limited attention and most studies in this area have focused on the use of history or attitudes towards multiculturalism, although fewer have addressed cultural policy itself. Thus, the emergence of the political party VOX in Spain is analysed in order to shed light on the character of these cultural policies, whether it constitutes a shift towards the extreme right or radical populist right, or it’s a continuation of the attitude towards nationalism and authoritarianism typical of the conservative right. Based on the analysis of electoral programmes and discourses in the general election campaigns and in the two autonomous regions where it is responsible for cultural policy (Castilla and León and Valencian Community), the article finds that VOX has introduced themes of the alt-right and clearly prioritises culture as a tool for cultural battles especially in terms of elements of national identity, such as in the party’s promotion of anti-Catalanism and bullfighting.