Abstract
The call for a referendum on the Catalan independence on 1 October 2017 and the complete rejection from the Spanish government fixed two irreconcilable positions: the desire of a new (Catalan) nation state and the desire of maintaining the unity of the existing (Spanish) nation state. The issue was judicialized and an almost inexistent space for political solutions was maintained. The Spanish and Catalan conflict is understood within the framework of multiple crises, some of which are specific to domestic politics whereas others are comparable to developments in the rest of Europe. The sovereignty of the nations is back on the political agenda. The case of Catalonia shows tensions between the shaping of the will of the people and the existing judicial framework, the connections between civil society mobilizations and political actions, and between plurality as an alternative project and the tendency towards homogeneity, characteristic of nation states.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Brunet J. M. (2017, November 8). El TC anula la DUI porque Catalunya no tiene soberanía. La Vanguardia. Retrieved from https://www.lavanguardia.com/politica/20171108/432718836677/tribunal-constitucional-anula-dui-declaracion-independencia-cataluna.html.
Castells, M. (1997, October 26). ¿Fin del Estado nación? El País. Retrieved from https://elpais.com/diario/1997/10/26/opinion/877816803_850215.html.
Castells, M. (2017, August 5). Catalunya: ¿patria o muerte? El País. Retrieved from https://www.lavanguardia.com/opinion/20170805/43329802265/catalunya-patria-muerte.html.
Della Porta, D., O’Connor, F., Portos, M., & Subirats Ribas, A. (2017). Social movements and referendums from below: Direct democracy in the Neoliberal crisis. UK: Polity Press.
Dowling, A. (2017). The rise of Catalan independence: Spain’s territorial crisis. London: Routledge.
Edwards, S. (1999). Reconstructing the nation: The process of establishing Catalan autonomy. Parliamentary Affairs, 52(4), 666–676.
El País. (2018, April 20). Interferencia inadmisible. El País. Retrieved from https://elpais.com/elpais/2018/04/09/opinion/1523293009_022030.html.
Encarnación, O. G. (2017, October 5). The ghost of Franco still haunts Catalonia. Foreign Policy. Retrieved from https://www.foreignpolicy.com/2017/10/05/the-ghostof-franco-still-haunts-catalonia/.
Guibernau, M. (2014). Prospects for an independent Catalonia. International Journal of Politics Culture and Society, 27(1), 5–23.
Habibur Rahman, Md, Sanguino Galván, R., & Barroso Martínez, A. (2017). Economic recession in Spain: Exploring the root causes, consequences and recoveries for the sustainable economic growth. International Journal of Econometrics and Financial Management, 5(2), 60–68.
Hernández, M. (2019, February 8). Pedro Sánchez echa el freno ante el clamor social y del PSOE por sus cesiones al independentismo. El Mundo. Retrieved from https://www.elmundo.es/espana/2019/02/08/5c5d8449fc6c83c8628b45e6.html.
Ichijo, A. (2009). Sovereignty and nationalism in the twenty-first century: The Scottish case. Ethnopolitics, 8(2), 155–172.
Jones, S. (2019, February 10). Thousands protest in Madrid before trial of Catalan separatists. The Guardian. Retrieved from https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/feb/10/thousands-protest-in-madrid-as-catalan-separatists-trial-looms.
Juliana, E. (2017, November 26). La mediación que no llegó. La Vanguardia. Retrieved from https://www.lavanguardia.com/politica/20171126/433202123811/mediacion-catalunya-espana-generalitat.html.
Kraus, P. A. (2017). Democratizing sovereignty: The Catalan “process” in a theoretical perspective. In P. A. Kraus & J. Vergés Gifra (Eds.), The Catalan process: sovereignty, self-determination and democracy in the 21st century (pp. 99–119). Barcelona: Institut d’Estudis de l’Autogovern.
Kraus, P. A., & Vergés Gifra, J. (2017). Introduction. In P. A. Kraus, & J. Vergés Gifra (Eds.), The Catalan process: Sovereignty, self-determination and democracy in the 21st century (pp. 11–28). Barcelona: Institut d’Estudis de l’Autogovern.
Levrat, N., Antunes, S., Tusseau, G., & William, P. (2017). Catalonia's legitimate right to decide, paths to self-determination. Retrieved from https://www.unige.ch/gsi/files/9115/0461/7417/EXECUTIVE_SUMMARY_Catalogne.pdf.
Onda Cero. (2019, February 13). Vídeo de la entrevista completa a Quim Torra en Más de uno. Onda Cero. Retrieved from https://www.ondacero.es/programas/mas-de-uno/videos/video-de-la-entrevista-completa-a-quim-torra-carlos-alsina_201902135c63d9e60cf2d3edce324bc1.html.
Orihuela, R. (2019, February 12). Catalan crisis still shapes Spain as separatist trial begins. Bloomberg. Retrieved from https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-02-12/catalonia-crisis-still-shaping-spain-as-separatist-trial-begins.
Pérez, C. (October 27, 2017). La UE no reconoce la declaración de independencia de Cataluña. El País. Retrieved from https://elpais.com/politica/2017/10/27/actualidad/1509120610_062639.html.
Pérez, L., & Sanjaume, M. (2013). Legalizing secession: The Catalan case. Journal of Conflictology, 2, 3–12.
Polo, A. (2017, October 18). Por qué Cataluña triunfa en la prensa extranjera. Expansión. Retrieved from https://www.expansion.com/blogs/polo/2017/10/18/por-que-cataluna-triunfa-en-la-prensa.html.
RTVE.es. (2018, October 30). Puigdemont y Torra presentan un gobierno catalán paralelo para el reconocimiento internacional del independentismo. RTVE.es. Retrieved from http://www.rtve.es/noticias/20181030/puigdemont-torra-presentan-consell-para-republica-mandato-hacer-efectivo-1/1829780.shtml.
Schleswig-Holsteinisches Oberlandesgericht. (2018, July 12). Matter Carles Puigdemont: The extradition for the accusation of embezzlement of public funds is admissible; an extradition for the accusation of rebellion is inadmissible. Carles Puigdemont remains free. Retrieved from https://www.schleswig-holstein.de/DE/Justiz/OLG/Presse/PI/201806Puigdemontenglisch.html.
Serra, M., Ubasart González, G., & Martí i Puig, S. (2018). Cataluña y La Triple Crisis Española. Nueva Sociedad: Democracia y Política en América Latin. Retrieved from: http://nuso.org/articulo/cataluna-y-la-triple-crisis-espanola/.
Sanjaume-Calvet, M., & Pérez Lozano, L. (2016). Catalan Countries. In D. Turp & M. Sanjuame-Calvet (Eds.), The emergence of a democratic rights to self-determination in Europe (pp. 66–89). Brussels: Centre Maurits Coppieters.
Spencer, P., & Wollman, H. (2002). Nationalism: A critical introduction. London: Sage.
Suanzes, P. R. (2019, February 24). Inés Arrimadas ante la casa de Puigdemont en Waterloo: “La República no existe”. El Mundo. Retrieved from https://www.elmundo.es/espana/2019/02/24/5c727eadfdddff00b88b458b.html.
Torra, Q. (2018, 17 October). The quality of democracy in Europe is at stake,’ claims Torra. Catalan News. Retrieved from https://www.catalannews.com/politics/item/the-quality-of-democracy-in-europe-is-at-stake-claims-torra.
Varagas, M. (2015). “Catalonia is not Spain”: Projecting Catalan identity to tourists in and around Barcelona. Journal of Tourism History, 7(1–2), 36–53.
Vila, A. O. (2017, October 11). Thank you, Spain—Because of Mariano Rajoy's actions, Catalonia has already won. Independent. Retrieved from https://www.independent.co.uk/voices/catalonia-independence-declaration-spain-prime-minister-mariano-rajoy-government-catalan-residents-puigdemonta7994566.html.
Yack, B. (2001). Popular sovereignty and nationalism. Political Theory, 29(4), 517–536.
Zuber, H., & von Rhor, M. (2018, August 13). Former Catalan president Puigdemont ‘I don’t like being in exile’. Spiegel. Retrieved from http://www.spiegel.de/international/europe/former-catalan-president-puigdemont-i-don-t-like-being-in-exile-a-1222545.html.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2021 The Author(s)
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Agustín, Ó.G., Raftopoulos, M. (2021). The Catalan Way to Independence and the Spanish–Catalan Conflict. In: Agustín, Ó.G. (eds) Catalan Independence and the Crisis of Sovereignty. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-54867-4_1
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-54867-4_1
Published:
Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-030-54866-7
Online ISBN: 978-3-030-54867-4
eBook Packages: Political Science and International StudiesPolitical Science and International Studies (R0)