Sub-State Diplomacy: Catalonia’s External Action Amidst the Quest for State Sovereignty

What is it about?

Catalonia is the Spanish self-governing region with the most active trajectory of international action. Catalan international action, which is a pioneer in the Spanish context, came to be slowly but progressively accepted as a normalized form of conduct by the Spanish state, as was the international action of other Spanish self-governing regions. Nevertheless, this normalization did not eliminate conflict, which continued to surface, though sporadically and without representing significant problems. However, things appear to have changed recently. Since 2012, Catalonia has been immersed in the process of independence or national transition. In this context, the Catalan Government’s international action has taken new directions and created new instruments. For the first time in the history of Catalonia’s international action, we witness clear signs of protodiplomacy

Featured Image

Why is it important?

Our analysis points out how catalan paradiplomacy turned to protodiplomacy because of the conflict between Spain and Catalonia on the independence of the last one. The seriousness of the conflict has pushed the Spanish government to put into question the legality of every catalan paradiplomatic action. On the other side, the Catalan Government fully aware of the usefulness of the symbolic dimension of his paradiplomacy had developed a wide range of paradiplomatic and publc-diplomacy action which had never happened before.

Perspectives