Sunday, November 06, 2005
The crumbling state
Catalonia in Spain has submitted a proposal to the state parliament in Spain in order to obtain greater autonomy. This is interpreted in Swedish newspapers as “controversial” because “the proposal will make Catalonia a nation”. The proposal, according to the newspaper article, is expected to meet with considerable resistance from the political right party PP in Spain because “it is a threat to the Spanish unity”. The fact that Spain already is a federation consisting of a number of more or less autonomous regions with different historical, cultural and linguistic backgrounds does not seem to be of interest to the state centralists.
The question is if the crumbling state system will follow the path of the state centralists, with possible future conflicts as a result, or if it will make a graceful exit and give back to the regions the self-governance taken from them during the last century-and-a-half.
And something for the Swedish journalists to consider. Catalonia has always been a “nation”, which the State of Spain has never been. A state is a political, military and administrative entity. It’s as simple as that. Why is it so hard to differentiate between nationhood and citizenship?
The question is if the crumbling state system will follow the path of the state centralists, with possible future conflicts as a result, or if it will make a graceful exit and give back to the regions the self-governance taken from them during the last century-and-a-half.
And something for the Swedish journalists to consider. Catalonia has always been a “nation”, which the State of Spain has never been. A state is a political, military and administrative entity. It’s as simple as that. Why is it so hard to differentiate between nationhood and citizenship?
Comments:
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Göran
The progress (or lack) of the Catalan case for increased autonomy is fascinating for all individuals and groups who follow events in the European Regionalism arena.
However this development carries significance for a much wider audience because it also represents an opportunity to advance subsidiarity within the European Union, who, it should be remembered, enshrined said principle within the Maastricht Treaty (freely agreed between consenting sovereign parties).
No doubt observers from a variety of ‘the more independently minded’ locations across Europe such as Scotland, Wallonie, Cymru, Vlaanderen, Lombardia, Bayern, Euskadi, Galicia, to name just a few, are viewing the progress of this case with more than casual interest.
It is depressing to see these events being reported in such negative terms but perhaps this is to be expected from a media that represents the establishment viewpoint. Regionalism in general is regarded as radical and underpinned by the forces of irredentism.
It is predictable that the PP views the emerging Catalan Nation with dismay because it opens a doorway for other minorities to declare similar sentiments. This does indeed threaten the integrity of the Spanish National State but that is an entirely positive consequence.
We can only trust that the Catalan case reaches a final conclusion that is constructive for all parties involved. In a few years time, commentators will wonder what all the fuss was about and by then other legitimate Regional minorities will also have been allowed a greater degree of self-determination (I am thinking here about the situation in Euskadi). When the world does not cave in on Spanish society in general, perhaps the media will be more inclined to analyse the concept of European Regionalism in a more favourable context.
Peter Davidson
Alderley Edge
NW England
peter@padav.demon.co.uk
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The progress (or lack) of the Catalan case for increased autonomy is fascinating for all individuals and groups who follow events in the European Regionalism arena.
However this development carries significance for a much wider audience because it also represents an opportunity to advance subsidiarity within the European Union, who, it should be remembered, enshrined said principle within the Maastricht Treaty (freely agreed between consenting sovereign parties).
No doubt observers from a variety of ‘the more independently minded’ locations across Europe such as Scotland, Wallonie, Cymru, Vlaanderen, Lombardia, Bayern, Euskadi, Galicia, to name just a few, are viewing the progress of this case with more than casual interest.
It is depressing to see these events being reported in such negative terms but perhaps this is to be expected from a media that represents the establishment viewpoint. Regionalism in general is regarded as radical and underpinned by the forces of irredentism.
It is predictable that the PP views the emerging Catalan Nation with dismay because it opens a doorway for other minorities to declare similar sentiments. This does indeed threaten the integrity of the Spanish National State but that is an entirely positive consequence.
We can only trust that the Catalan case reaches a final conclusion that is constructive for all parties involved. In a few years time, commentators will wonder what all the fuss was about and by then other legitimate Regional minorities will also have been allowed a greater degree of self-determination (I am thinking here about the situation in Euskadi). When the world does not cave in on Spanish society in general, perhaps the media will be more inclined to analyse the concept of European Regionalism in a more favourable context.
Peter Davidson
Alderley Edge
NW England
peter@padav.demon.co.uk
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