Sardinian nationalism

Sardinian nationalism or also Sardism (Sardismu in Sardinian; Sardismo in Italian^[1]) is a social, cultural and political movement in Sardinia calling for the self-determination of the Sardinian people in a context of national devolution, further autonomy in Italy, or even outright independence from the latter. It also promotes the protection of the island's environment and the preservation of its cultural heritage.

Even though the island has been characterized by periodical waves of ethnonationalist protests against Rome,^[2] the Sardinian movement has its origins on the left of the political spectrum;^[3][4] regionalism and attempts for Sardinian self-determination historically countered in fact the Rome-centric Italian nationalism and fascism (which eventually managed to contain the autonomist and separatist tendencies^[5]). Over the years many Sardist parties from different ideological backgrounds have emerged (even on the right and the centre), all being in the minority, and with some of them making government coalitions of variable geometry with the statewide Italian parties. For instance, that also happened in the 2014 Sardinian regional election,^[6] where the combined result of all the nationalist parties had been 26% of the votes.^[7]