The Tribune

EVENTS in Catalonia are attracting huge international attention as Spain’s most prosperous region of 7.5 million people could declare unilateral independence within days following its illegal referendum.

This would plunge the nation into its worst constitutional crisis for decades. But the Spanish government is standing firm against independence saying that the process would have no effect because the referendum had not only been determined to be illegal by the nation’s constitutional court but was flawed as well since the turnout was less than fifty per cent. There have also been massive public demonstrations in Madrid and Barcelona in favour of the nation’s unity.

Secession derives from people’s basic desire for self-determination and control over their lives. As such, it reflects the contention by economist E. F. Schumacher in his seminal work ‘Small is Beautiful,’ published in 1973, that what he described as ‘gigantism’ in relation to economics can lead to the dehumanisation of people. For many, the same applies in the political sphere.

This is especially the case in today’s world. As part of globalisation, the centralisation of political and economic power at the regional level – not only greater federalism but also multi-national financial and other institutions in the hands of unidentifiable and often corrupt bureaucrats operating remotely with little real accountability – has grown exponentially since the 1970s and has led increasingly to public disillusion, dissatisfaction and resentment.

By nature, human beings are sociable, clannish and tribalistic. They recognise that in order to survive and flourish they must be interdependent. They identify with authority at the local level in order to bring order to everyday life and with government at the national level to provide protection, security and prosperity. As patriots, they take pride in citizenship of their country and share its values and beliefs. But divisions develop when central government becomes too remote or fails to act in their interests and there is insufficient local autonomy.

Separatism and the break-up of countries is all too common – recent examples among many are South Sudan and East Timor and the peaceful split of Czechoslovakia in 1993 into the Czech Republic and Slovakia. One of the most infamous was the violent fragmentation of what became known as the fissiparous state of Yugoslavia after the death in 1980 of President Tito who had held the nation together for more than thirty years; and there are ongoing cases like Quebec, Ukraine, Tibet and others.

As Spain’s richest and most industrialised region with its own language, culture and self-governing regional parliament, tensions over the years have come to a head, but Catalonia’s poll should not be compared to Scotland’s independence referendum in 2014 since this was held with the agreement of the United Kingdom government.

Whether or not it would be viable as an independent state, Catalonia’s political leaders have put the region outside the rule of law by threatening the unity and sovereignty of Spain. To exist and develop as a separate nation it would need to be recognised as such by other countries, including by the European Union itself which is unlikely to intervene or to countenance separatism within a member state even though one of the bloc’s core values is respect for the rights of national minorities.

From the television footage, it seems that the strong-arm tactics by the central government to try to disrupt the illegal referendum may have made the situation worse, not least because some voters maintain that their aim was simply to assert their right to express a view in the ballot. Police violence has been widely condemned and may well incite further serious reaction which will be exacerbated if troops, who have apparently already been sent to the region, become involved.

Seen from afar in our small nation which is united as one people despite regular, lively and sometimes rancorous political debate, this volatile situation in Spain requires calm heads and sensible mediation. Where possible, national borders established over many years to determine the territorial integrity of countries should be maintained in order to limit disorder and conflict. It is undesirable that they should be allowed to be disrupted arbitrarily by separatists in modern times.

Self-determination of peoples is recognised as a fundamental right incorporated into the United Nations Charter, but disputes and grievances should be settled through peaceful means in accordance with the law. Within a democracy, matters like autonomy and devolved powers should be pursued through negotiation.

Whatever view may be taken about the independence of Spain’s judiciary, the legitimate powers of the state under the constitution must be protected and preserved. Small may be beautiful, but existing unity is also important and the rule of law should always prevail. Without this, the result is anarchy.