The Case for Catalan and Scottish Secession Builds

Separatist movements continue to rumble across Europe. The separatist urge extends to different degrees to parts of Italy, Belgium, France, Romania and -- most seriously at the moment -- to Spain and the United Kingdom. In Spain, Catalonia this week proceeded with a "solemn proclamation" beginning the independence process, a move the Spanish Constitutional Court will probably block. Meanwhile in the United Kingdom, a year after 55 percent of Scots voted to remain a part of the union, polls are showing movement toward a "yes" vote on secession were a referendum held today, and Westminster is passing laws likely to exacerbate internal divisions. Why Scotland and Catalonia currently display such strong secessionist tendencies has as much to do with past grievances as it does with a present confluence of factors. ...