Mechanisms of mobilisation: Catalonia's 'procés' and the lost autonomy theories of secession (original) (raw)
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Catalonia’s national identity has its roots in the Middle Ages and Early Modern Times. In the 19th century, the Catalonian search for independence was encouraged by romantic and revolutionary concepts spread across Europe. After the First World War, we can notice a significant increase of political actions as regards the Catalonian nationalists-separatists, including violent episodes and riots in main cities. As for the contemporary period, the financial crisis in 2007-2008 acted as a new booster for nationalist-separatist ideas leading eventually to referendums in 2009 and also in 2017. The present study is exploring in a historical register the process of Catalonian’s independence. In doing so, I intend to identify and examine the Catalan’s main reasons in claiming complete political independence. The study tackles particularly recent interviews presenting opinions of several Catalonian citizens, some of them with political or administrative responsibilities, concerning regional i...
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In the fall of 2017, the Parliament of Catalonia passed the Self-Determination Referendum Act and the Legal Transition and Foundation of the Republic Act. The first act called a unilateral referendum of independence, whereas the second act was a provisional constitutional framework for an independent Catalonia. While I have addressed the issue of State coercion at length elsewhere, my chapter in "Unrecognized Entities: Perspectives in International, European and Constitutional Law" will focus on the circumstances of the Self-Determination Referendum Act and on the design of the Legal Transition Act, which has not received much academic thought. The second part of my contribution will concentrate on self-determination and secession in the European Union.
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Over the past few decades, Europe has witnessed the rise of secessionist movements driven by national minorities and other separatist groups. This phenomenon is currently capturing the world's attention and is perceived as a significant challenge to states, governments, and global politics. In the context of liberal political theory, none of the theories of secession has appeared to find a healthy balance of considerations between the anti-secessionists and the pro-secessionists, and the less permissive view and the more permissive view. They are also incompetent to formulate the specific conditions under which secession might be justified or legitimate practically. Moreover, as demonstrated in the cases of Catalonia and Scotland, all of the theories neglect the economic implications of secession, which have crucially fueled and driven contemporary secessionist movements. This paper seeks to develop a conceptual framework for secession as reflected by the cases of secessionist movements in Catalonia and Scotland. It proposes that Plebiscitary approaches require modification to safeguard a flawless state and