Administration, sovereignty and the fight against injustice: Identification and analysis of the discourse frames of modern Catalan secessionism

Abstract

In this paper we seek to identify the main historical frames used by Catalan secessionism through discourse analysis using the tools of second-level agenda-setting and cognitive linguistics, and to compare them with examples taken from 2017 for the purpose of establishing whether these frames are still significant for the academic analysis of the contemporary discourse. In order to identify and describe the frames, we have analyzed some of the most relevant texts and speeches of three political leaders who marked Catalan politics in the first half of the 20th century: Enric Prat de la Riba, Francesc Macià and Lluís Companys. After studying this material, we propose that the frames should be called administration, sovereignty and the fight against injustice.