Looking at a map of Europe today, I think it looks quite strange. Collapsed empires of old and destructive wars have left a fractured continent, full of countless small countries so numerous it can be a struggle to name them all. How many people can point to Moldova, a small stretch of land between Romania and Ukraine. In the same way that Germany’s borders used to never quite stay the same, either during the Holy Roman Empire or the multitude of iterations it was in leading up to its current form, the Balkans have managed to one up this, becoming a sea of tiny nations splitting off from one another since the fall of Yugoslavia. If given a pen and paper, I could draw a good map from memory, but when it came to the Balkans I wouldn’t know where to start.
I remember back in my A-level history class when I did a lesson on the first world war. Looking back it seems strange that it was left so late before I properly studied it given the war’s immense significance, but that’s another story. I remember the map draw on the whiteboard showing the world as it was back then — and it was almost unrecognizable. The Europe I knew of small independent states was replaced with one dominated by large empires, with the majority of the continent neatly divided between Britain, France, Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Russia. Again, it would be the Balkans where a lot of smaller states would be found. Having recently been released from the Ottomans, although they were completely in the spheres of influence of larger powers, it was that the Russian Tsar saw Serbia as a protectorate that started the war after all.
Many European countries today arose out of Austria-Hungary and Russia, the Czech Republic, Slovenia and Belarus to name a few. You may be forgiven for thinking this meant peoples and ethnic groups were granted their sovereignty, and unlike in these strange, unimaginable behemoth empires of the past, they have at last achieved self-determination and are free to explore their destiny as they choose. Catalonia hopes to be the next, a culturally different people as a part of a larger state to which they feel no attachment, and they demand self-determination.
The Europe today, despite its fractured state we see today is just as centralised as it was during the high of the nineteenth century empires, the only meaningful difference being instead of power being shred by numerous great powers it is completely in the hands of Germany. An Axis victory in WW2 would have made Germany the centre of European politics; causing the allies to intervene in the reconquest of Prussian territory. Hypothetically, if we could tell someone back in 1939 about the European Union, the Euro and the European central bank, no doubt they would assume that the war was lost.
The first role of any government is to ensure the nation’s defence. More importantly, a country that cannot protect its borders cannot stay independent for long. How many countries, not just on the continent but around the world, could achieve this should war (inevitably) break out? Africa screams out, its underdevelopment and economic failure is just crying out for incorporation into a foreign power. There are a multitude of micro-nations released from Russia in the Caucasus, but despite their so called ‘independence’ they are completely dependent on Russia for trade, firmly in their economic sphere, and largely independent in name only. Any one could be formally reincorporated again should the Kremlin decide.
Now back to the Balkans — whilst banded together in Yugoslavia the present day nations of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Slovenia, Serbia, Montenegro, Macedonia, and Kosovo could guarantee themselves independent. Even as a communist country, they were separate from the Soviet Union and not a part of the Warsaw pact, unlike the rest of the small Eastern nations. A few independence movements and a bloody civil war later, Yugoslavia of course no longer exists. Now, instead of smaller nations banding together to protect their interests, they are now individually so small that they cannot possibly stand up to the Franco-German hegemony that rules Europe.
No doubt a Europe of small independent territories is what Brussels longs for. Unlike the large nation states they cannot independently stand up for themselves, and will be completely under the hegemony of the EU. Recently Scotland, and now Catalonia have been the stars of their own independence movements, and no doubt it will go on. Brexit has raised questions over the Irish border so perhaps Northern Ireland will be next. There is already a growing Venetian independence campaign, but after this we could see a Sicilian independence movement arise out of Italy’s cultural divide. It’s silly to think that every nation can be completely homogeneous, and I’m not sure that it’s even desirable. All countries have different places to visit, from large cities to quiet hamlets, urban or rural, and doubtless the local culture and attitudes reflect their surroundings. This is probably most evident in the the United States: New England, the South and the West are all different, but still distinctly American.
The uncomfortable truth is only great powers can be truly sovereign, something a post-brexit Britain may find out the hard way. There has been much debate as of late as to whether the UK should remain in the European Economic Area (the single market), or even just a part of the customs union. Britain may still be strong enough to stand on it’s own outside of the EU’s influence, but it could just as easily not do. I struggle to think of many peoples who believe in themselves less than the British. Given Britain’s large trade deficit, it’s likely that even post brexit it’ll be reliant on the EU for trade, meaning it’ll have to abide by its rules and regulations anyway. If this is the case, then I can only wonder what the point in leaving was in the first place.
Catalonia has a choice to make. Madrid or Brussels. Whilst it might be the richest province in Spain, it certainly isn’t strong enough to stand up to other nation states or the EU. It is however, very culturally similar and historically tied with Spain. They are better off staying with this group as the legislation that Madrid passes is more likely to reflect the interest of the Catalans than that passed by Brussels. Furthermore, as a significant part of Spain, Catalonia has a very real possibility to influence the direction of the country in their favour. Far more than they could as a small territory amongst many others in the EU. Catalonia already has a good thing going within Spain, it recieves more in the the way of autonomy than other regions. It seems a sshame to throw this away to become a small voice in the EU, or in the unlikely event it does not join the bloc, to be competently influenced by it or by Spain anyway, only now they don’t get a say in it. To answer the question in the title of this article: no — Catalonia cannot become a nation state.
