The Catalan self-determination process is on track. Milestones like the 11 September mass demonstration and the issuing of a Sovereignty Declaration by the Catalan Parliament on 23 January highlight the strong will of the Catalan people to exercise this right. However, there are certain doubts in the international community on this issue. Probably, the major question is whether the Catalan State will be a responsible stakeholder in the international concert. The following are some notes on this.
First, there's the incontestable truth that remains trough the centuries: liberty does not come free. Most of Catalan society is aware of this. Becoming an independent state is only half of the story. To keep this freedom in the face of threats and risks is the other half. Today the West must confront several challenges, such as terrorism, weapons of mass destruction (WMD), proliferation, human trafficking, drug smuggling, and so on ... Combating these threats comes with a price-tag in both treasury and blood. However, this is nothing new. The fight against totalitarianism in the XX Century is still alive in our memory. The blood spilled in the beaches of Normandy or Iwo Jima, and the nuclear deterrence during the Cold War, were Freedom "fees" impossible to avoid. Despite not being widely known, Catalan history is full of such "fees", and the new State will face current threats side-by-side with the West and other maritime democracies.
Cause of this, independent Catalonia will raise its own national security and defence structures, focusing on interoperability with other Western and democratic countries. Today, Catalonia has its own national police (Mossos d'Esquadra) and local police forces, with a total strength of some 25,000 men and women, covering most of the public security spectrum. Catalan police is experienced in many areas of interest in post-conflict stability operations and could start operating in such environments as part of allied forces within a relatively short period of time, with just some additional training and the acquisition of the necessary hardware. Thus, it would be helping to fill a gap identified in past asymmetric conflicts as one requiring a mixture of police and military skills, which for example led the USMC to set up a unit made up of reservists who work as police officers.
On becoming an independent state, Catalonia will build its own intelligence services and armed forces in accordance with NATO standards of skill and readiness. Actually, some changes are already in motion, and past reluctance to discuss security and defence issues has given rise to a healthy debate on force missions and structures, based on the understanding that the country must be a security provider, not just securing her own territory and coastline but making a positive contribution to NATO. This is clearly in Catalonia's national interest, as a country not just seeking to restore her sovereignty but to improve her scientific, technological, commercial, and industrial capabilities. Thus, just to mention an example, completing the infrastructures connecting the ports of Barcelona and Tarragona to the European railway network is an economic imperative, and at the same time would increase their value as logistical support nodes for allied operations and their role in the naval component of NATO's missile shield.
In the context of the United States' "Pivot to the Pacific", European allies are being called on to help secure the Atlantic and the Mediterranean, allowing the US Navy to concentrate in force in the Indian-Pacific Oceans regions. Catalonia is looking forward to doing its bit, and as a trading and industrial nation is keenly aware of the need to preserve freedom of navigation and open access to the commons. Another area in which a combination of national interests, existing civilian and security capabilities, and geography, makes it likely that Catalonia could contribute relatively quickly is mountain warfare, with the setting up of an air-mobile brigade.
Catalonia is aware that recognition by the international community results from responsibility and commitment. Terrorists, pirates, crime syndicates and other threats never rest and are keen to look for weak spots in the Western democracies. As a result, there's no alternative other than to fight them, and the Catalan State will not fail on that count. We are ready to become an "adult" nation, and we agree to pay the price in full.
Alex Calvo is a Professor of International Relations and International Law, Head of the IR Department, and Postgraduate Research Director, European University (Barcelona Campus).
Pol Molas i Canis is a naval analyst at the Catalan Center for Strategic Studies.
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