Anatomía del discurso soberanista: análisis temático y terminológico comparado de los textos de EH Bildu y Sinn Féin

Javier Jaspe Nieto; César García Muñoz

doi:10.31921/doxacom.n42a3081

Authors

Javier Jaspe Nieto ESIC University https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5406-5692
César García Muñoz ESIC University https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4866-2970

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.31921/doxacom.n42a3081

Keywords:

left soberanism, terrorism, political communication, lexic analysis, framing, agenda setting

Abstract

The study analyzes the discursive architecture of contemporary left-wing sovereigntism through a comparative analysis of 69 texts (389,531 words) published by EH Bildu and Sinn Féin between 2021 and 2024. By integrating NLP techniques (SpaCy, PhraseMatcher) based on a lexicon of 618 political concepts, frequencies, co-occurrences, and time series were mapped to address two questions: (a) which thematic axes underpin their discourses?; (b) what terminological configuration characterizes them? The results reveal a productive asymmetry: Sinn Féin produces three times the Basque output and covers more than twice the number of domains. EH Bildu concentrates on a normative-identity lexicon while excluding housing and healthcare; Sinn Féin privileges an inclusive-technocratic register and downplays the industrial dimension. Both parties share frameworks of crisis, ethics of power, and public action, while omitting terms linked to their terrorist past, suggesting a convergent strategy of image cleansing and political legitimation. The study fills the theoretical gap on post-conflict left-wing sovereigntism, connecting framing, agenda-setting, and lexical priming with corpus analysis. It thus provides a replicable model to monitor the discursive evolution of contemporary nationalist movements and to facilitate future comparative research in European political communication.

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Author Biographies

Javier Jaspe Nieto, ESIC University

Javier Jaspe Nieto holds a PhD in Journalism from the Complutense University of Madrid and is a professor of Economic History and Consumer Behavior at ESIC University. He is accredited by ANECA as a Profesor Contratado Doctor (Tenure-Track Lecturer). He currently serves as the Director of Research at ESIC University.

Professor Jaspe specializes in research and teaching in fields related to social anthropology, the history and sociology of communication, as a member of his university’s Humanities Department. To date, he has published scientific articles in journals such as Ilu, Pensamiento, European Journal of Innovation Management, European Public & Social Review, Comunicación y Hombre, and the Revista de Pensamiento Estratégico y Seguridad, among other publications indexed in Web of Science and Scopus. In addition, he is the author of numerous contributions to collective volumes published by McGraw Hill and Dykinson, as well as case studies published by ESIC Editorial.
César García Muñoz, ESIC University

I am a communication professor at ESIC University. Before, I was a full professor at Central Washington University (CWU). I specialize in teaching and research on public relations and strategic communication. I also have more than a decade of experience in Europe in the public relations industry for international firms such as Edelman and Pleon. I have published more than 55 peer-reviewed articles, mainly as a single author, in relevant public relations and global communication journals such as Public Relations Review, Public Relations Inquiry, Journal of Communication Management, Public Relations Journal, International Journal of Strategic Communication, Journal of International Communication, and International Journal of Sport Communication, among others. A number of these articles analyze the intersection between public relations, culture, politics, and economics. I have participated in three I+D+i projects financed by Spain´s Ministry of Science and Innovation. I have written three books: American Psique (2011), Historia de un Estereotipo. Intelectuales Españoles en Estados Unidos (1885-1936) (2009) y La Opinión Pública en Santayana (Public Opinion in Santayana) (2006). I have authored several chapters as well on the history of communication in several academic books.

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