Paper at Policy & Politics Conference 2014 at Bristol UK Dr Igor Calzada Postindependence Comparing...

Post-Independence: http://www.postindependence.org

Comparing city-regional devolution strategic scenarios

in Scotland, Catalonia and the Basque Country http://www.cityregions.org

Dr Igor Calzada MBA PostDoctoral Research Fellow at the University of Oxford (UK) Future of Cities – COMPAS & Ikerbasque (Spain)

Lecturer in Policy & Sociology at Birmingham Aston University (UK) RSA Early Career Grant holder

http://www.igorcalzada.com/about

Policy & Politics Conference 2014 Bristol (UK). 11:00-11:30

17th September 2014

0.- Starting research questions. A.- What is going to happen tomorrow (18S) in Scotland’s #indyref? B.- What have been already/are going to be the consequences for Scotland, the UK but also for Catalonia, Basque Country and Spain? Theme to be addressed: City-regional small-nation’s devolution strategic scenarios.

OUTLINE

0.- Starting research questions.

1.- Broader context of my research. · PostDoctoral project: www.cityregions.org · Book: www.postindependence.org

2.- Main Argument: Rationale. (1-4)

3.- Conclusions for Scotland, Catalonia and the Basque Country.

4.- Final remarks

Map by @icalzada

www.cityregions.org

Map by www.cityregions.org

www.cityregions.org

2.- Main argument: Rationale (1)

City-regions (Scott 2001, Herschell 2014, Tewdwr-Jones 2000, Ward 2007, Harding 2007, Cochrane 2007, Newman 2002 and Harrison 2013) are widely recognised as pivotal societal and political-economic formations, key to national and international competitiveness and rebalancing political restructuring processes into nation-states, even changing their dynamics beyond and between them (Ohmae 1995, Keating 2002 and Soja and Brenner 2014).

City-Regional Small-Nations beyond Nation-States

2.- Main Argument: Rationale (2)

However, Keating argues that globalization and European integration have encouraged the re-emergence of a new civic nationalism within established nation-states, a notion that connects directly with city-regions.

Re-emergence of a new civic nationalism > City-Regions


The referendum in Scotland and Catalonia, in 18S and 9N, respectively and – presumably, in the near future - in the Basque Country, bring into are question the issue of democratic representation beyond the level of the nation-state, while legitimating the territories as unique actors by activating city-regional (Herrschel, 2014) devolution processes.

Referendums


Here, I suggest and develop a new concept ‘Post-independence’ in reference to a strategic scenario of city-regional devolution aiming at the right to decide for this hypothetical independent territory of tomorrow and the need to thus prepare, research, implement and disseminate territorial strategies and policies. (www.postindependence.org)

Post-independence

City-Regional European Federation?

(rather than based on Nation-States?)

EU membership Europeism

Currency Union?

Devolution

North Sea Oil

Identity? Nation(alism)?

•  Britishness •  Scottishness •  Englishness

Self-Government Policies

Decisions based on policy proposals

“Independen8sm nowadays is a colossal blunder”

UK ≠ Spain

•  Spain has been avoiding the demands of the Catalan and Basque institutions and citizens on the basis of both historic and more recent episodes of political unrest.

•  Spain stands out as remaining normatively inflexible without, so far, even contemplating any dialogue with the presidents of the Catalan and Basque Autonomies.

•  As a result, it seems impossible to open any discussion about the devolution claims of city-regional small nations, particularly in terms of devising an internal, alternative and re-scaled configuration of Spain as a nation-state, which would involve modifying the 1978 Constitution.

3.- Conclusions for Scotland, Catalonia and the Basque Country.

1.- Hence, can we find any remarkable differences between EU nation-states such as the UK and Spain? Indeed, I think there are plenty of them. 2.- Nevertheless, it is clear that this new order must be taken seriously through close attention to its democratic dimension and to the clear territorial and political consequences for the city-regions, their related nation-states and the EU as a whole. I would like to entitle this debate ‘Postindependence’.

Map by @icalzada

#COMPLEX

#DIVERSITY Photos by @icalzada & @flickr

Table: City-‐regional small na8ons’ popula8ons and GDP. Source: The New York Times hKp://www.ny8mes.com/2014/08/06/world/europe/catalan-‐vote-‐seen-‐as-‐test-‐for-‐separa8sts-‐in-‐europe.html

City-Regional Small Nations

City-Regional Devolution Strategic Scenarios

Scotland •  UK Government has legitimised the Scottish Government and supported the Scottish Independence referendum as being a highly democratic exercise.

•  Scotland currently represents the first relevant case in which a hypothetical independence option has been agreed on by both the regional Scottish government and institutions (Holyrood) and the British nation-state government and institutions (Westminster).

•  As a consequence, due to its substantial citizen engagement and the way in which the independence referendum has been managed democratically by both sides, this case demonstrates very good practices—efficient governance, social media usage and a rationalised dialectic.

•  NO > DevoMax from Westmister? •  YES > Negotiation in the creation of the new State of Scotland (into the

EU? In a Currency Union?) <2016



Catalonia •  Significant level of social support that has been gained (70%) for independence.

•  Which has prompted planning for a potential consultation event on 9th November and also pushed the Catalan Regional Government to accept this possibility, even against the will of the Spanish Central Government.

•  However, it remains unclear what the socio-economic proposals of each side will be.

•  The main debate is focused on the real controversy regarding whether or not to honour the consultation without having any information about the content.

•  It thus seems that the antagonistic dialectic adopted does not, in the short term, help to achieve a democratic outcome.

•  Scenario: Train crash.



Basque Country •  ETA (Euskadi Ta Askatasuna), announced a ‘definitive cessation’ of its campaign in 2011 and, therefore, should welcome any kind of democratic implementation that involves devolving powers to the Basque Country.

•  56% people would be in favour of holding a Referendum. And the majority of the Basque Parliament is in favour of it too.

•  Presents a new and positive context, which has evolved very quickly and has created an environment in which a demand for a referendum is bound to occur sooner or later as a consequence of the overcoming of the political violence that dominated the previous era.

•  The main issue for any such referendum is the continued lack of preparation for the democratic content of the debate.

•  Furthermore, the region may have the same difficulties as those faced by Catalonia regarding Spain’s inflexible position.

4.- Final Remarks.

1.- Scotland: Even though Scotland is not sociologically ‘independentist’ or neither ‘nationalist’, 1997 ‘failed’ referendum, reinforced the Scottish DevoMax corpus finding its own way towards real Independence option. We’ll see tomorrow. 2.- Catalonia: Another ‘failure’ of devolution, the New Statute of Autonomy for Catalonia of 2005 and the lack of federal efficiency and vision of Spain, has provoked the 75% of Catalans being in favour of YES. 3.- The Basque Country: The peace has come to stay and now the new political status could be delivered in a referendum following the lessons learnt from Scotland and Catalonia.

Thanks for your aKen8on

Dr Igor Calzada MBA [email protected]

hKp://www.cityregions.org

hKp://www.pos8ndependence.org

hKp://www.igorcalzada.com/about @icalzada

Paper at Policy & Politics Conference 2014 at Bristol UK Dr Igor Calzada Postindependence Comparing...

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