The present project will be devoted to the study of the development and evolution of the notions of State and Nation in Spain during the period 1898-975, by taking into account the corresponding cultural and scientific policies, and how progresses in Science contributed to the legitimation of those political entities, and vice versa.

In recent times there exists a general consensus on the basic role played by cultural and scientific evolution in the formation, progress, and social acceptance of both contemporary State and the various Nation concepts sustained by them. Nevertheless, for the Spanish case, systematic studies in that line are still missing. This project aims to fill this historiographical gap by establishing the nature of the links connecting State, scientific and cultural policies, Science progress, and consensus on the Nation idea. Moreover, its interest goes far beyond its strictly academic values: Results will be obtained on the role of cultural and scientific developments in the constitution of the Spanish State, and of their significative importance in social evolution. Emphasis is made in understanding by “science” not only the classical scientific disciplines but also the Social Sciences and Humanities, by considering their common features, i.e. knowledge generation and diffusion. Our analysis will be performed at several levels:

1. Science and culture as symbolic and argumentative resources of the Nation.
2. The origin of national scientific landscapes, stemming from the relationships between State and Nation, and between Science and culture.
3. Generation of a scientific interpretation of the Nation concept.
4. On the dialectical understanding of the national and international dimensions of Science and culture.

A comparison will be performed between Spain and other European countries with a-priori similar cultural policies -Portugal, Italy- or having exerted deep economic, industrial, cultural, and industrial pressure -Germany. For that aim, the project will also consider the role of diplomatic efforts to convey the identification of a national imaginary through scientific and cultural contacts.

The project formulates -and will answer- the question of to what extent cultural and scientific output was determined or affected by the current Nation conceptions, as well as the influence of Nation representation and symbols in the behaviour of scientists and the way they understood their disciplines.

Recent research suggest the abandonment of the asymmetric conception according to which the State-Nation could interfere with scientific practice -but not the other way round- in favour of a symmetric approach, both analytic and heuristic, of the interaction between Science and State. According to this paradigm, the relationship between State and the Sciences is analysed by considering both as groups of resource management organised in a network-like interactive pattern: Science and culture are no longer independent of policy-makers. Rather, they are part of general policies, obtaining from them financial support and new goals for scientific agendas, while their results and output provide legitimation to the State political
structure.

Key Words: Relationship State-building/Nation-building/Scientific and Cultural Policies, History of Spain 1898-1975