Catalan independence: which other countries could split?
In Depth: Spain is not the only nation battling a separatist movement
Catalan President Carles Puigdemont has called for mediation with Spain following a violent independence referendum in which pro-separatists claimed 90% of voters’ support.
But while Puigdemont says he is not planning a “traumatic split” with Spain, Madrid doesn’t even recognise what it considers to be an illegal referendum, and blamed voters for fuelling tensions.
“The police’s use on Sunday of batons and rubber bullets to disrupt the referendum risks deepening the confrontation and putting off the moment when Madrid and the Catalonian authorities sit down to find a way out of the impasse,” the Financial Times says.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Spain isn’t the only country grappling with a major independence movement.
Soldiers in Cameroon shot dead at least eight people during independence protests in the English-speaking parts of the country on Sunday, reports the BBC. And more than three million Iraqi Kurdistan voters cast ballots in a non-binding referendum last month on secession from Iraq, with more than 92% in favour of independence.
So which other countries are struggling with separatists?
Scotland
In a 2014 referendum, Scotland voted 55% to 45% to remain in the UK, but the matter didn’t end there.
The UK’s 2016 Brexit referendum - when Scotland voted by 62% to stay in EU - stirred up the political rhetoric again.
First Minister of Scotland Nicola Sturgeon teased the idea of a second referendum, but shelved plans for a new vote after the SNP lost 21 seats in the June general election, saying she needed to “reset” her independence strategy. However, with Brexit negotiations still stalled, Scottish voters may become more receptive to calls for a second independence referendum.
On Sunday, Sturgeon tweeted her support for the people of Catalonia, and condemned the UK Foreign Office for its “shamefully weak” response to the violence.
Flanders
Support for the greater autonomy of Flanders has been bubbling for decades, largely owing to Belgium’s cultural and linguistic differences - namely a Dutch-speaking Flanders and French-speaking Wallonia.
Bart De Wever, president of the New Flemish Alliance, has asked his parliamentary whip to devise a strategy on “securing greater autonomy for Flanders after national elections in 2019”, devolving powers so that Belgium would be forced to split in two, Politico reports.
Belgium’s constitution says that the government should consist of 50% Flemings and 50% Walloons, and major decisions need the support of both - which would make independence difficult.
“In practice, this means that 20% of the population (i.e. half of the Walloons) can veto every decision,” The Brussels Journal says.
Bavaria
Bavaria, occupying the southeastern corner of Germany, has its own dialects and traditions. The wealthy state comprises about 20% of Germany’s land mass and is home to the pro-independence Bavaria Party.
A poll - conducted by YouGov and the German newspaper Bild in July - showed that up to a third of Bavarians support independence, a result that Bild described as “frightening”.
Independence would be difficult, however. In 2016, a Bavarian man filed a court claim hoping to force a referendum on whether the state could vote to leave Germany. The case was rejected on the grounds that the German Constitution does not allow for individual states to quit Germany, says The Washington Post.
Basque Country
One of the most notorious separatist movements in Europe is the Basque region, located mainly in Spain, with a section in French territory. The concept of Basque nationalism has historically been tied to violence, chiefly owing to the activities of Euskadi Ta Askatasuna (Eta), a militant Basque separatist group founded in 1959.
Between 1968 and 2011, Eta and related groups killed approximately 840 people, wounded a further 2,500, and kidnapped 80, according to a report on the conflict by the Washington DC-based United States Institute of Peace.
Eta declared a ceasefire in 2011 but did not disarm, the BBC says. Between a quarter and one-third of voters in the Basque region support separation from the Spanish state, EuroNews said last month. It is so far unclear whether Catalonia’s struggle for independence will revive tensions in the Basque Country.
Republika Srpska
Bosnia and Herzegovina separated into two largely autonomous regions following the Bosnian War in the 1990s: the Bosniak and Croat-inhabited Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and the Serb-inhabited Republika Srpska.
Diplomatic tension has been high ever since. In 2015, Reuters reported that Republika Srpska had said it aimed to hold a referendum on independence in 2018, unless the region was granted more autonomy.
“The threat represents potentially the greatest challenge to Bosnian statehood since it split from federal Yugoslavia and descended into war that killed 100,000 people from 1992 to 1995,” Reuters said.
Republika Srpska President Milorad Dodik has since postponed an independence referendum, following what Politico describes as pressure from Western powers who would not recognise an independent Republika Srpska.
“The postponement of the referendum is likely to placate Bosnia’s Western partners in the short term,” says IHS Jane’s Intelligence Review, “but the Bosnian Serb leadership is unlikely to completely abandon their challenge to central authorities.”
New Caledonia
The Pacific island of New Caledonia, off the east coast of Australia, is a special collectivity of France, with partial autonomy. It answers to France on major legislative matters, and citizens of New Caledonia vote in French general elections.
Independence is now on the radar, however, with a referendum planned for 2018.
This week, rival camps of New Caledonian politicians are in New York to put their arguments before a meeting of the UN decolonisation committee.
While no date has yet been set for New Caledonia’s plebiscite, one anti-independence faction has proposed 7 October 2018, says the Radio New Zealand website.
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
The manosphere: the shady online network of masculinists
The Explainer A new police report said a rise in radicalised young men is contributing to an increase in violence against women and girls
By Richard Windsor, The Week UK Published
-
How can we fix tourism?
Today's Big Question Local protests over negative impact of ever-rising visitor numbers could change how we travel forever
By The Week UK Published
-
Simone Biles: Rising – an 'elegantly paced and vulnerable' portrait of the gymnast
The Week Recommends Netflix's four-part documentary is more than a 'riveting comeback story'
By Irenie Forshaw, The Week UK Published
-
'Spare us the charade'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By Anya Jaremko-Greenwold, The Week US Published
-
Venezuela election: first vote in a decade offers hope to poverty-stricken nation
The Explainer Nicolás Maduro agreed to 'free and fair' vote but poor polling and threat of prosecution pushes disputed leader to desperate methods
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
How could J.D. Vance impact the special relationship?
Today's Big Question Trump's hawkish pick for VP said UK is the first 'truly Islamist country' with a nuclear weapon
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
The Tamils stranded on 'secretive' British island in Indian Ocean
Under the Radar Migrants 'unlawfully detained' since 2021 shipwreck on UK-controlled Diego Garcia, site of important US military base
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
The campaign of destruction against 'sea gypsies'
Under the Radar Malaysia targets traditional seafaring Bajau Laut tribe in crackdown on undocumented migrants
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
New Panama president vows to halt migration
Speed Read José Raúl Mulino will stop migration through the Darien Gap
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Bolivia general arrested after coup attempt
Speed Read Gen. Juan José Zúñiga led what appeared to be a bid to unseat President Luis Arce
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Who will win France's election of extremes?
Today's Big Question Voters face a stark choice between far-right party and left-wing alliance as centrists lose ground
By Rebecca Messina, The Week UK Published