IRMO Brief’s seventh issue in 2017 deals with Catalonia’s independence referendum, scheduled for October 1st. As of yet, it is still not clear if the referendum will be held at all, given Madrid’s staunch opposition to what it sees as a serious breach of the Spanish constitution. By refusing to authorize the Catalan referendum, the Spanish authorities have taken an entirely different position from that of the UK, which has permitted and promised to honor the results of a similar Scottish plebiscite in 2014. The Brief compares the Catalan and Scottish independence movements and comes to the conclusion that Madrid’s heavy-handed approach towards Catalan secessionists might lead to a different outcome then in Scotland, i.e. Catalonia’s separation from Spain.
Seventh Issue of the IRMO Brief Published
