On Communism and the Nation –Notes from the History of the Colonial Question in the Portuguese Communist Party

This article analyzes the positions adopted by the Portuguese Communist Party in relation to the colonial question. Before doing so, however, the article discusses the general problem of the national question in the history of the PCP, addressing some topics that are important for a discussion of communist historiography. This discussion is part of a larger debate concerning the analytical identification between nation and culture, on the one hand, and between politics and power, on the other. In dealing with these dichotomies, some topics are presented for discussion, relating to studies on both the Portuguese Empire and the Leninist theory of imperialism.