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Begin New Search Political Geography Catalonia

1. Sí o no? Will Catalonia go it alone?

Author:
Janko Bekić
Publication Date:
07-2017
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Institute for Development and International Relations (IRMO)
Abstract:
The United Kingdom and Spain have many things in common. Both countries are former empires, constitutional monarchies and parliamentarydemocracies;of�iciallytheyare unitary states, however, devolution in the UK and the model of autonomous communities in Spain make them “federations without federalism”. Furthermore, they are both plurinational, in the sense that Britishness and Spanishness serve as overarching identities for the stateless nations of the English, Scots and Welsh within the UK, and the Castilians, Catalans, Basques and others within Spain (although, one could argue that the English and the Castilians are the real “owners” of the two countries). In the past, London as well as Madrid fought minority nationalisms with violence, triggering terrorist attacks by armed separatist and secessionist groups like the IRA and ETA. More recently, the central governments of the UK and Spain have been faced with peaceful and democratic independence movements in Scotland and Catalonia, to which they responded quite differently. While London allowed the Scottish independence referendum of September 2014, and promised to honor its result, Madrid remains adamantly opposed to a similar plebiscite in Catalonia, and vows to disrupt it with all legal means at its disposal (which, ultimately, includes the use of force). The differing approaches of British and Spanish governments to secessionism within their borders are mirrored in their foreign policies: the UK recognized the Serbian breakaway province of Kosovo as a sovereign and independent state, while Spain (along with four other EU members) refuses to do so.
Topic:
Federalism, Autonomy, and Independence
Political Geography:
United Kingdom, Spain, Catalonia, Scotland, and Western Europe

2. The Catalan economy: Crisis, recovery and policy challenges

Author:
Xavier Cuadras-Morató
Publication Date:
05-2017
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
Center for Social and Economic Research - CASE
Abstract:
Catalonia is one of the richest regions in Spain. Until the outbreak of the international financial and economic crisis in 2008, it enjoyed a phenomenal economic boom – which then turned into a very severe depression, from which the region began to exit only in 2014. Consolidating the recovery and making the economy more competitive and resilient, and less volatile, are some of the key challenges of economic policy in Catalonia. Also, to improve the region’s social cohesion, policymakers should make sure that economic prosperity is more widely shared, and transform it into an effective tool for social progress.
Topic:
Demographics, Labor Issues, Economic growth, Social Policy, Global Financial Crisis, Economic Policy, Trade, and Recovery
Political Geography:
Europe, Spain, Catalonia, and European Union

3. What’s Going on in Catalonia?

Author:
Astrid Barrio and Bonnie N. Field
Publication Date:
12-2017
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
Georgetown Journal of International Affairs
Abstract:
On 1 October 2017, Catalonia held a referendum on independence from Spain. Catalonia, in the northeastern corner of Spain, has a population of seven and a half million. With Barcelona as its capital, it is a cultural and economic hub. Previously, in early September, the Catalan parliament had approved the self-determination referendum law to regulate the vote. At the behest of the Spanish government, which considered the law unconstitutional, Spain’s constitutional court suspended it and the referendum. But the Catalan government moved ahead anyway. In turn, the Spanish authorities took action to prevent the referendum, including arresting several Catalan government officials. The police action provoked widespread protests in Catalonia.
Topic:
Self Determination, Elections, Protests, and Separatism
Political Geography:
Spain, Catalonia, and Barcelona

5. How Catalan's Independence Leader Failed by Design

Author:
Liam Hunt
Publication Date:
11-2017
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Centre for the Study of Security and Development, Dalhousie University
Abstract:
Catalonia unilaterally declared independence from Spain on October 27, 2017, and with that, the fate of the European Union was briefly, once again, put in jeopardy. Since then, the international community, including Canada, the US, UK, Germany, and France, have all come forward to call for Spanish unity and quash the separatist tide. The Spanish Constitutional Court has ruled the results of the October 1 secession referendum illegal. In response, the Spanish Senate triggered Article 155 of the Constitution, which effectively gave Madrid direct rule over the region of Catalonia. Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy then dissolved the Catalan Parliament and installed a caretaker government under the leadership of vice-premier Soraya de Santamaria before calling snap regional elections for December 21.
Topic:
Sovereignty, Elections, European Union, Separatism, and Secession
Political Geography:
Europe, Spain, and Catalonia

6. Who Are the Catalans? Language, Identity and Assimilation in Contemporary Catalonia

Author:
Thomas Jeffrey Miley
Publication Date:
01-2008
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Minda de Gunzburg Center for European Studies, Harvard University
Abstract:
This paper analyzes patterns of linguistic adaptation, cultural assimilation, and hidden contestation in contemporary Catalonia. It makes use of public opinion data available for the general population there, compared and contrasted with the results of primary research from 355 interviews conducted by this author with a random sample of Catalan politicians and schoolteachers. In the process, it assesses the relative merits of the “competitive assimilation” thesis, the dominant framework for understanding the dynamics of language politics in Catalonia. It contends that this thesis is critically flawed, both as description and as explanation.
Topic:
Civil Society and Demographics
Political Geography:
Europe, Spain, and Catalonia

7. Women Writing on Physical Culture in Pre-Civil War Catalonia

Author:
P. Louise Johnson
Publication Date:
03-2004
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Institute of European Studies
Abstract:
Anna Maria Martínez-Sagi is a largely forgotten but immensely evocative voice in the liberal-progressive press of nineteen-thirties' Spain. In particular, she is remarkable for being one of very few female writers of the time who were also active sportswomen, as well as being fiercely Catalanist and pro-women, in an inclusive sense. This article looks at her contribution to the debate on physical culture in Catalonia at the time, with reference to other writers concerned with the subject, and aims to capture in some small way the energy and humour which characterized her columns and reports.
Topic:
Education, Gender Issues, and Human Rights
Political Geography:
Europe, Spain, and Catalonia