This blog has been one of the few places you could find information on the Catalonia secession movement. I have been more concerned about Spain’s militant reaction to the movement. Rather than diplomacy and open discussion over the movement, Spain has adopted the US model of discussion – show up with force and beat the opponents into submission. I guess we still do lead the world in the battle of some ideas.
Secession has different meanings to different people and rarely are those meanings based on principles. Usually they are based on whether or not we like or dislike the players. Good secessions are from countries we don’t like – Serbia above all, of course. Independent Kosovo: good. Montenegro’s separation from its union with Serbia: good. But Republika Srpska’s possible separation from Bosnia and Herzegovina: bad. Independence of Serbian Kraijinas from secessionist Croatia: emphatically bad. Northern Kosovo and Metohija’s separation from “sovereign, independent Kosovo”: very, very bad.
In the court of public opinion, Catalonia has the upper hand right now. This could have been avoided. Catalonia will lose this fight due to the ramifications on Spain and the EU if they are successful. Read more here.