Skip to main content

Lund University Publications

LUND UNIVERSITY LIBRARIES

Renaming the Past: Identity, Memory, and Electoral Backlash in Spain

Arregui Alegria, Iker LU (2026) In Working Papers
Abstract
Public spaces are increasingly becoming battlegrounds over collective identity, as
societies revisit which figures deserve commemoration. The removal of statues and
street names has become a powerful symbolic act, as for those attached to these
legacies, such changes may be seen as denying their group identity. This paper
examines the political consequences of such symbolic changes in the context of Spain,
focusing on the recent renaming of streets honoring figures from the dictatorship.
Using three complementary empirical strategies and drawing on both observational
and survey evidence, I find that removing Francoist streets leads to a significant
increase in support for far right parties in the affected... (More)
Public spaces are increasingly becoming battlegrounds over collective identity, as
societies revisit which figures deserve commemoration. The removal of statues and
street names has become a powerful symbolic act, as for those attached to these
legacies, such changes may be seen as denying their group identity. This paper
examines the political consequences of such symbolic changes in the context of Spain,
focusing on the recent renaming of streets honoring figures from the dictatorship.
Using three complementary empirical strategies and drawing on both observational
and survey evidence, I find that removing Francoist streets leads to a significant
increase in support for far right parties in the affected areas, particularly when the
names held high salience. I further implement a novel individual level survey and
show that this response is driven by identity-based concerns rather than practical
objections, shedding light on the political consequences of contested memory in
democratic societies. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
organization
publishing date
type
Working paper/Preprint
publication status
published
subject
keywords
Voting, Identity, Spain, Renaming, Far-Right, D72, N44, Z13.
in
Working Papers
issue
2026:6
pages
80 pages
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
4e4b08b7-29e5-4276-b225-5f1b37dd61a0
date added to LUP
2026-05-28 13:53:07
date last changed
2026-05-28 13:53:07
@misc{4e4b08b7-29e5-4276-b225-5f1b37dd61a0,
  abstract     = {{Public spaces are increasingly becoming battlegrounds over collective identity, as<br/>societies revisit which figures deserve commemoration. The removal of statues and<br/>street names has become a powerful symbolic act, as for those attached to these<br/>legacies, such changes may be seen as denying their group identity. This paper<br/>examines the political consequences of such symbolic changes in the context of Spain,<br/>focusing on the recent renaming of streets honoring figures from the dictatorship.<br/>Using three complementary empirical strategies and drawing on both observational<br/>and survey evidence, I find that removing Francoist streets leads to a significant<br/>increase in support for far right parties in the affected areas, particularly when the<br/>names held high salience. I further implement a novel individual level survey and<br/>show that this response is driven by identity-based concerns rather than practical<br/>objections, shedding light on the political consequences of contested memory in<br/>democratic societies.}},
  author       = {{Arregui Alegria, Iker}},
  keywords     = {{Voting; Identity; Spain; Renaming; Far-Right; D72; N44; Z13.}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  note         = {{Working Paper}},
  number       = {{2026:6}},
  series       = {{Working Papers}},
  title        = {{Renaming the Past: Identity, Memory, and Electoral Backlash in Spain}},
  url          = {{https://lup.lub.lu.se/search/files/251349487/WP26_6.pdf}},
  year         = {{2026}},
}