US Historian Samuel Moyn: Catalonia should turn Independence into a “cause of global concern"

In an interview on TV3, Professor Samuel Moyn of Columbia University, an historian of ideas and an expert in human rights, expresses his opinion about the independence of Catalonia.

The right to self-determination is a right included in the founding principles of the UN, however after the processes of decolonization, this idea of self-determination weakened.

People want to feel part of a political community, not just part of a network of economic exchanges. If this is not met either in Europe nor in the rest of the world and not even in their own state, they just seek refuge in "their language, their culture and their local particularities."

Catalonia is not comparable to Scotland, because in the case of Catalonia there is no agreement with the Spanish government. However Scotland, Catalonia and even Flanders do have common causes, exacerbated by the economic crisis. And they have to fight for them in the context, as quoted, of a failure of certain politic structures.

Catalunya should turn Independence into a “cause of global concern”. The case of Catalonia is unique and could set a precedent because "if Catalonia is not willing to cross the line of violence to achieve independence”, it will be a minority group in history. The Catalan success will become a heroic achievement”.

See the interview here.