Entre la fantasía del hogar y el sueño de la lejanía. Nacionalismo y cosmopolitismo en el primer exilio vasco (1937-1946)

Abstract

At first glance, nationalism and cosmopolitanism are two opposing and mutually incompatible phenomena. Based on an analysis of the theoretical and conceptual debate on this topic, and inspired by innovative approaches to global and transnational history, this article aims to question said incompatibility. Focusing on empirical research into the first exile of the Basques (Barcelona, Paris, New York), this paper notes that the Basque Government —led by Lehendakari Aguirre and dominated by the Basque Nationalist Party— had to resort to a transnational and cosmopolitan strategy for survival, without abandoning its political objectives. The text concludes by highlighting the need to recover that view of a rooted cosmopolitanism (U. Beck), especially in our current times, which are characterised by the return of a self-absorbed and authoritarian nationalism that has apparently eliminated any hint of cosmopolitanism