The Political Use of de facto Referendums of Independence The Case of Catalonia

Abstract

Referendums on independence in liberal democracies are rare, even more so when held without the agreement of the central government. On 1 October 2017, a referendum on independence took place in Catalonia despite the opposition of Spanish central authorities and the lack of Constitutional support. This article analyses and attempts to explain this case of a de facto referendum in the international context of independence referendums. We consider both strategic culture and rationality as relevant factors for explaining the political actors' behaviour. Although the political use of popular mobilisation through a referendum to strengthen legitimacy is common among this type of referendums, the Catalan case presents relevant peculiarities since it occurred in a liberal democracy, the civil society were instrumental in making the vote possible, and central authorities repressed both the organisation of the vote and the voters themselves. Our case study analysis can be used in future research on self-determination conflicts and independence referendums.

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