Hostname: page-component-848d4c4894-m9kch Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-05-14T10:27:54.227Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

The venturous bid for the independence of Catalonia

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 November 2018

Josep M. Colomer
Josep M. Colomer*
Affiliation:
Department of Government, Georgetown University, 588 ICC, 3700 O Street, NW, Washington, DC 20057, USA
*
*Email: colomerj@georgetown.edu
Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Core share and HTML view are not available for this content. However, as you have access to this content, a full PDF is available via the ‘Save PDF’ action button.

Following an ambiguous constitutional compromise for democratization, the territorial decentralization of the Spanish state developed by means of political party competition, exchanges, and bargaining. Hence, the so-called state of autonomies was characterized as “non-institutional federalism” [Colomer, Josep M. 1998. “The Spanish ‘State of Autonomies': Non-institutional Federalism.” West European Politics 21 (4): 40–52]. In the most recent period, competition and instability have intensified. New developments include, on one side, attempts at recentralizating the state and, on the other side, demands and mobilizations for Catexit, that is, the independence of Catalonia from Spain, which resulted in sustained inter-territorial conflict. This article addresses these recent changes with a focus on the relations between the Spanish and the Catalan governments. The political changes were analyzed as a result of opportunities and incentives offered by a loose institutional framework and the subsequent competitive strategies of extreme party leaders.

Keywords

federalismsecessionnationalismEuropean UnionSpainCatalonia
Type
Articles
Information
Nationalities Papers , Volume 45 , Issue 5 , September 2017 , pp. 950 - 967
Copyright
Copyright © 2017 Association for the Study of Nationalities 

References

Anduiza, Eva, Martin, Irene, and Mateos, Araceli. 2013. “The Consequences of the 15-M Protests on Voting Choice in the 2011 Spanish General Election.” Paper presented at the European Political Science Association conference, Barcelona, June 20–22.Google Scholar
Balcells, Laia. 2007. “¿Es el voto nacionalista un voto de proximidad o un voto de compensación? Una nueva aproximación ‘espacial’ al voto en dos dimensiones.” Revista Española de Ciencia Política 16: 61–88.Google Scholar
Balcells, Laia, and Orriols, Lluís. 2012. “Party Polarisation and Spatial Voting in Spain.” South European Society and Politics 17 (3): 393–409.Google Scholar
Baras, Montserrat, Barberà, Oscar, Barrio, Astrid, and Rodríguez Teruel, Juan. 2010. “Estructuras de opinion de los partidos políticos y competencia multidimensional: el caso de Catalunya.” Revista de Estudios Políticos 22: 49–70.Google Scholar
Barrio, Astrid, and Juan Rodríguez, Teruel. 2014a. “Pour quelles raisons les partis politiques en Catalogne se sont-ils radicalisés? Le système des partis et la montée du souverainisme (1999–2012).” Pole Sud 40: 99–119.Google Scholar
Barrio, Astrid, and Juan Rodríguez, Teruel. 2014b. “Does Leaders’ Radicalization Make More Radical Voters? Party Elites, Outbidding Competition and Secessionism in Catalonia.” Paper prepared for the workshop “The Dynamics of Nationalist Evolution in Contemporary Spain,” Barcelona, September 25–26.Google Scholar
Bermúdez, Syra, and Cordero, Guillermo. 2015. Identitats d'elits politiques i votants a Catalunya. Barcelona: Quaderns de l'ICPS, 6.Google Scholar
Carreras, Albert, and Tafunell, Xavier. 2004. Historia Economica de la Espana Contemporanea. Barcelona: Critica.Google Scholar
Centre d'Estudis d'Opinió (CEO). 2015. Baròmetre d'Opinió Política, 35.Google Scholar
Centre d'Estudis d'Opinió (CEO). 2016. Baròmetre d'Opinió Política, 37.Google Scholar
Centro de Investigaciones Sociológicas (CIS). 2015a. Preelectoral de Cataluña. Elecciones autonómicas 2015. 3108.Google Scholar
Centro de Investigaciones Sociológicas (CIS). 2015b. Postelectoral de Cataluña. Elecciones autonómicas 2015. 3113.Google Scholar
Chandra, Kanchan, ed. 2012. Constructivist Theories of Ethnic Politics. New York: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Colomer, Josep M. 1985. “Una aproximacio a les arees político-electorals de Catalunya.” Paper presented to the workshop “Cultura politica i participacio,” Laboratory Deputation of Barcelona, June 25.Google Scholar
Colomer, Josep M. 1990. El arte de la manipulación política. Barcelona: Anagrama.Google Scholar
Colomer, Josep M. 1991. “Transitions by Agreement: Modeling the Spanish Way.” The American Political Science Review 85 (4): 1283–1302.Google Scholar
Colomer, Josep M. 1995. Game Theory and the Transition to Democracy. The Spanish Model. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar.Google Scholar
Colomer, Josep M. 1998. “The Spanish ‘State of Autonomies': Non-institutional Federalism.” West European Politics 21 (4): 40–52.Google Scholar
Colomer, Josep M. 2007. Great Empires, Small Nations. London: Routledge.Google Scholar
Colomer, Josep M. 2008a. “Empire-, State- and Nation-building and Deconstructing in Spain.” In Multinational State Building, edited by Darviche, M.-S., and Genieys, W., 43–60. Montpellier: Pole Sud.Google Scholar
Colomer, Josep M. 2008b. “Spain and Portugal: Rule by Party Leadership.” In Comparative European Politics, edited by Colomer, Josep M., 3rd ed., 174–206. London: Routledge.Google Scholar
Colomer, Josep M. 2010. “Spain: A Partisan, Non-institutional Democracy.” In Spain Towards the Americas, edited by Castro, Gabriel, and de Miguel, Jesus M., 411–440. Madrid: Fundación Endesa.Google Scholar
Colomer, Josep M. 2016. The European Empire. Geneva: Foundation Europe Cultural.Google Scholar
Colomer, Josep M., and Llavador, Humberto. 2012. “An Agenda-setting Model of Electoral Competition.” SERIEs – Journal of the Spanish Economic Association 3: 73–93.Google Scholar
Colomer, Josep M., and Padró-Solanet, A. 1992. “Espacio político-ideológico y temas de campaña. El ejemplo de las elecciones autonómicas de Cataluña de 1992.” Revista de Estudios Politicos 78: 131–159.Google Scholar
Colomer, Josep M., Padró-Solanet, A., and Riba, Clara. 1993. Factors de l'abstenció electoral a la ciutat de Rubí. Barcelona: mimeo.Google Scholar
Colomer, Josep M., and Puglisi, Riccardo. 2005. “Cleavages, Issues and Parties: A Critical Overview of the Literature.” European Political Science 4: 502–520.Google Scholar
Comissió d'experts. 2007. Participació, representació, transparència. Informe per a la Llei electoral de Catalunya. Barcelona: Generalitat de Catalunya, Departament de Governació i Administracions Públiques.Google Scholar
Downs, Anthony. 1957. An Economic Theory of Democracy. New York: Harper and Row.Google Scholar
Eisenstadt, S. N., and Rokkan, Stein, eds. 1973. Building States and Nations, 2 vol. Beverly Hills, CA: Sage.Google Scholar
Enelow, James M., and Hinich, Melvin J. 1984. The Spatial Theory of Voting. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Field, Bonnie. 2015. Why Minority Governments Work: Multilevel Territorial Politics in Spain. New York: Palgrave-Macmillan.Google Scholar
Font, Joan, Contreras, Jesús, and Rico, Guillem. 1998. L'abstenció en les eleccions al Parlament de Catalunya. Barcelona: Fundació Jaume Bofill – Ed. Mediterrània.Google Scholar
Guinjoan, Marc, and Rodon, Toni. 2014. “Beyond Identities: Political Determinants of Support for Decentralization in Contemporary Spain.” Regional and Federal Studies 24 (1): 21–41.Google Scholar
Hume, David. 1742. “Of Superstition and Enthusiasm.” In Essays Moral, Political, and Literary (1742–1754). Trad. “De la superstición y el entusiasmo,” in David Hume, Ensayos políticos, edited by Colomer, Josep M. Madrid: Tecnos, 1987.Google Scholar
Institut de Ciencies Politiques i Socials (ICPS) (Institute of Political and Social Sciences, Autonomous University of Barcelona). 2014. All Surveys and Reports. http://www.icps.cat/.Google Scholar
Sexta TV, La. 2014. http://www.lasexta.com, 28 September 2014.Google Scholar
Lago Peñas, Ignacio. 2000. “Identidades duales y abstención diferencial en las Comunidades Autónomas: los casos de Catalunya, Galicia y País Vasco.” Dereito 9 (2): 156–176.Google Scholar
Laitin, David. 1989. “Linguistic Revival: Politics and Culture in Catalonia.” Comparative Studies in Society and History 31 (2): 297–317.Google Scholar
Linz, Juan J. 1973. “Early State-building and Late Peripheral Nationalism Against the State: The Case of Spain.” In Building States and Nations, edited by Eisenstadt, S. N. and Rokkan, Stein, Vol. II, 32–116. Beverly Hills, CA: Sage.Google Scholar
Linz, Juan J. 1975. “Politics in a Multilingual Society with a Dominant World Language: The Case of Spain.” In Multilingual Political Systems: Problems and Solutions, edited by Savard, J.-G., and Vigneault, R., 367–444. Quebec: Presses de l'Universite de Laval.Google Scholar
Linz, Juan J. 1.3. “State Building and Nation Building.” European Review 1 (4): 355–369.Google Scholar
Martínez-Herrera, Enric, and Jeffrey Miley, Thomas. 2010. “The Constitution and the Politics of National Identity in Spain.” Nations and Nationalism 16 (1): 6–30.Google Scholar
May, John D. 1973. “Opinion Structure of Political Parties: The Special Law of Curvilinear Disparity.” Political Studies 21 (2): 135–151.Google Scholar
Medina, Lucía. 2015. Eleccions a Catalunya. Cap a una reedició del vot dual i l'abstenció diferencial? Barcelona: Quaderns de l'ICPS, 9.Google Scholar
Miley, Thomas Jeffrey. 2005. “Des identités en évolution: L'exemple des Catalans dans l'Espagne contemporaine.” Pòle Sud 23: 147–174.Google Scholar
Miley, Thomas Jeffrey. 2006. Nacionalismo y política lingüística: el caso de Catalunya. Madrid: Centro de Estudios Políticos y Constitucionales.Google Scholar
Montera, José Ramón, and Font, Joan. 1991. “El voto dual: lealtad y transferencia de votos en las elecciones autonómicas.” Estudis Electorals 10: 183–211.Google Scholar
Muñoz, Jordi, and Tormos, Raül. 2015. “Economic Expectations and Support for Secession in Catalonia: Between Causality and Rationalization.” European Political Science Review 7 (2): 315–341.Google Scholar
Parés, Marc. 2013. Informe de l'estat de la demoeràcia a Catalunya. Barcelona: Generalitat de Catalunya, Departament de Governació i Relacions Institucionals.Google Scholar
Pérez-Nievas, Santiago, and Bonet, Eduard. 2009. “Differential Voting for Ethno-regional Parties in Multilevel Electoral Systems.” In The Multilevel Electoral System of the European Union, edited by van der Eijk, Cees and Schmitt, Hermann, 59–88. Manhein: University of Manheim.Google Scholar
Pérez-Nievas Montiel, Santiago, and Fraile Maldonado, Marta. 2000. Is the Nationalist Vote Really Nationalist?: Dual Voting in Catalonia 1980–199. Madrid: Instituto Juan March de Estudios e Investigaciones, Centro de Estudios Avanzados en Ciencias Sociales, 147.Google Scholar
Prados de la Escosura, Leandro. 1988. De Imperio a Nacion. Crecimiento y atraso economico de Espana (1780–1930). Madrid: Alianza.Google Scholar
Rabushka, Alvin, and Shepsle, Kenneth A. 1972. Politics in Plural Societies. A Theory of Democratic Instability. Columbus, OH: Charles E. Merril.Google Scholar
Riba, Clara. 1995. “Vot dual i abstenció diferencial. Tres aproximacions a l'estudi del comportament electoral a Catalunya (1982–1993).” Doctoral thesis, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona.Google Scholar
Riba, Clara. 2000. “Voto dual y abstención diferencial. Un estudio sobre el comportamiento electoral en cataluña.” Revista Española de Investigaciones Sociológicas 91: 59–88.Google Scholar
Riba, Clara. 2008. “El comportament electoral dual a Catalunya.” Eines 5: 13–29.Google Scholar
Riker, William H., ed. 1993. Agenda Formation. Ann Arbor: The University of Michigan Press.Google Scholar
Rokkan, Stein. 1971. “Nation-building: A Review of Models and Approaches.” In Nation-building, edited by Stein Rokkan, Kirsti Saelen, and Warmbrunn, Joan, 7–38. The Hague: Mouton.Google Scholar
Rokkan, Stein, and Urwin, Derek W., eds. 1983. Economy, Territory, Identity: Politics of West European Peripheries. London: Sage.Google Scholar
Stokes, Donald E. 1963. “Spatial Models of Party Competition.” American Political Science Review 57 (2): 368–377.Google Scholar
Tilly, Charles, ed. 1975. The Formation of National States in Western Europe. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.Google Scholar
Tormos, Raül, Muñoz, Jordi, and José Hierro, Maria. 2015. Identificació nacional: causa o conseqüència? Els efectes del debat sobre la independència en la identitat dels catalán. Papers de Treball. Barcelona: Generalitat de Catalunya, Centre d'Estudis d'Opinió.Google Scholar
Ucelay-Da Cal, Enric. 2014. “Catalan Nationalism, 1886–2012: An Historical Overview.” Pole Sud 40: 13–28.Google Scholar
Vallès, Josep M. 2009. “La abstención ‘diferencial': una nota sobre los casos de Cataluña y de la Comunidad Autónoma de Madrid.” Revista Española de Ciencia Política 21: 93–105.Google Scholar
Vallès, Josep M., and Liñeira, Robert. 2014. “Abstención diferencial en Cataluña y en la Comunidad de Madrid: explicación sociopolítica de un fenómeno urbano.” Revista Española de Investigaciones Sociológicas 146 (2): 69–92.Google Scholar