US Report: ”Spain’s inflexibility is troubling”

A report released by the Social Science research Network and used by the US Department of Justice addresses the legal aspects of the recent rise of separatism in Flanders, Scotland, and Catalonia. The paper argues that “under current conceptions of international law, Flanders, Scotland and Catalonia do not possess a right to statehood. But the changing nature of statehood in Europe adds a new dimension to the analysis of self-determination claims.”

In fact the article, by Christopher K. Connolly, suggests how international law and state practice might evolve to reflect new realities at a time when the state is being challenged both from above and from below. The report explains Catalonia's reality as “rising separatist sentiment,” and it points out, as Michael Keating explains, that “Spain’s system of autonomous governments is the result of contradictory pressures for differentiation, coming from the historic nationalities, and for uniformity, coming from the central state.”

The paper explains that “Spain’s inflexibility is troubling, however, both legally in light of the Canadian Suprem Court’s opinion and politically in comparison to the accommodating stance taken by Britain under similar circumstances” (page 32).

The report is being used by the United States Department Of Justice and recommends that Spain allow Catalonia to hold a referendum on independence. “Britain’s response to Scottish nationalism has already started down this path, with the British state allowing for a referendum despite its strong opposition to Scottish independence. Spain should follow suit in the event that Catalan nationalists continue to seek a plebiscite to determine their future relationship with the Spanish state” (page 63).