“Ethnic Relations Between Gypsies and the Majority Populations in Spain during the 21ST Century”

Since their arrival on the Iberian Peninsula during the beginning of the 15th century, the Gypsy minority is one of the most relevant “other” ethnicities in Spanish society. According to the Gypsy Secretariat Foundation, between 750,000 and 1,000,000 Spanish Gypsies live in Spain. The ethnic minority’s history in Spanish territory is characterised by a singular and intense cultural integration, a course of relative ethnic homogenisation, a sense of having a strong collective identity, and a widespread social marginalisation. This paper analyses the relationship between the political and economic frameworks in Spain after it became a democracy, and the context of interethnic relationships between the Gypsies and the majority population and the applicability and metamorphosis of the sense of collective identity among the Spanish Gypsies in recent years.

Two axis of analysis will be laid out;

1. In the context of intra-ethnic relationships: The fragmentation and progressive sense of differentiation of the differentiation of identities among Spanish Gypsies derived from the extensive process of urbanisation and transformations of political, social, and economic conditions after the 1970’s.  
2. In the context of intra-ethnic relationships: The process of mobilisation and collective action against the Gypsies during the 80s and 90s and continuity of a strong sense of ethnic boundaries during the 21st century.  

This paper forms part of the doctoral thesis of the author, funded by the Spanish Government (Subprogram FPI-MICCIN) as part of the Groupe Européen de Recherche Interdisciplinaire sur le Changement Religieux (GERICR) research program