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Print Price: $110.00

Format:
Hardback
352 pp.
156 mm x 234 mm

ISBN-13:
9780198801832

Publication date:
March 2022

Imprint: OUP UK

Catalonia

The Struggle Over Independence, Second Edition

Kenneth H. McRoberts

Located in north eastern Spain, Catalonia has long displayed the attributes of a nation: distinct language and culture, separate social and political institutions, and a strong collective identity. At the same time, it is one of Spain's centres of economic dynamism and innovation. As such, it is an especially striking instance of what has come to be known as 'minority' or 'internal' nations within a larger political order.

Even after the Franco dictatorship's systematic suppression of Catalan language and culture, the idea that the Catalan nation needed to have an independent state of its own remained at the margins of Catalan politics. Yet, in recent years Catalan independence has become: the formal objective of Catalonia's nationalist parties; the focus of a strongly mobilized social movement; and the primary option of as much as half of Catalonia's electorate. This drive to independence even led to a failed unilateral declaration of independence. How can this remarkable transformation best be explained and what does it portend for the future of Catalonia and Spain? This new edition seeks to answer these questions.

At the same time, the book analyzes the proposal for an independent Catalan state while also showing how the Catalan question might be resolved within Spain, by creating a multinational federation. It also explains why there is little prospect of either project coming to pass.

The book demonstrates the dangers and contradictions of a state nationalism that denies the very existence of internal nations, while also exploring the terms under which such nations can be accommodated within a larger political order. On this basis, it addresses a critical challenge to the political institutions of much of Europe and North America.

Readership : Postgraduate, Research & Scholarly: scholars and students interested in Spanish and Catalan Politics and European Studies.

Introduction
Part One: Historical Development of the Catalan Nation
1. The Historical Roots of Nationhood
2. The Emergence of Catalan Nationalism
3. Catalonia and the Spanish State
Part Two: Nation-Building and the Struggle Over Autonomy, 1980-2010
4. The Transition to Democracy: Avoiding Plurinationality
5. Nation-Building in an Autonomous Community
6. The Break-Down of 'Nation-building without a State'
Part Three: The Struggle Over Independence, 2010-2020
7. From 'Right to Decide' to 'Independence'
8. Seeking Independence: the Procés and its Fate
9. The Persisting Confrontation over Independence
10. Conclusion: The Failure of Spain's Political Institutions

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Kenneth McRoberts is Professor Emeritus of Political Science, York University, Toronto, Canada. His publications include Misconceiving Canada: The Struggle for National Unity, second editon (OUP Canada, 2019).

Interpretive Social Science - Mark Bevir and Jason Blakely
Theory of Strategy - Colin S. Gray
Making Sense in the Social Sciences - Margot Northey, Lorne Tepperman and Patrizia Albanese

Special Features

Provides a general introduction to Catalan society, culture, and politics.
Traces the failed attempt of the Catalan government over the last decade to secede from Spain.
Proposes in detail how Spain might be made into a genuine federation that takes full account of Spanish plurinationality and outlines the obstacles to such a fundamental change.
Shows that the movement to create an independent Catalan state has remained remarkably strong and persistent even though, as the book demonstrates, Catalan independence is virtually impossible to achieve.

New to this Edition

This second edition offers an overview of Catalonia's political, cultural, and economic life and its relations with the rest of Spain.
It analyzes the remarkable transformation that has taken place over the last decade, and offers important insights about the origins of nationalism and politics of secessionism.