Abstract

The history of Spain in the 20th and 21st century provides us with many examples of mimetic rivalry: the permanent conflict between peoples who inhabit a common territory, seeking their identity through the affirmation of differences. In the never-ending reciprocities that occur throughout the decades, with ferocious feuding between the left and right wings, and disputes between nationalities, we appreciate how the Girardian theses shine some light on conflictive and at times bloody relationships that would be difficult to understand without the illuminating mimetic theory and the scapegoat mechanism.Mimetic theory and the scapegoat mechanism, together with some of Girard's most innovative intuitions (passion for...