Catalonia as an Autonomous Community

Abstract

The post-communist transitions from authoritarian rule in post-Cold War East and Central Europe refocused attention on the sometimes problematic relationship among state, nation(s), and democratization, or what Linz and Stepan (1996: 16) have called “stateness.” This often conf lict-ridden triad has confounded attempts to establish stable democratic regimes in some states with minority territorial communities. Not so for post-Franco Spain. Following the 1975 death of General Francisco Franco, Spanish political elites successfully secured a democratic transition partly by agreeing to give special status to Catalonia, the Basque Country, and Galicia, the so-called historic regions. A region of northeast Spain, Catalonia had active nationalist movements claiming the territory had a distinct identity due to its language (Catalan), economic and social dynamism, and history of autonomous political institutions. A few nationalists demanded independence, but most were moderates calling for the reestablishment of Catalonia’s earlier autonomous political status within a democratic Spain.

The building of a state composed of autonomous regions is our only way out of Spain’s current problems, but it is also the principal risk that threatens our fragile democracy.

Spanish Prime Minister Adolfo Suárez, 1980

By means of this Statute, Catalonia wishes to progress towards an improved form of democracy.

Preamble, Proposal for Reform of the Autonomy Statute of Catalonia, Catalan Parliament, 2005