ABSTRACT
On 18 February 2006, a demonstration wound its way through Barcelona with one main slogan: “Som una nació i tenim el dret de decidir” (“We are a nation and we have the right to decide”). Since then, a significant part of the debate on Catalan secession has focused greatly on this idea of the “right to decide.” Contrary to what the title might suggest, this chapter does not aim to address the recent but extensive literature on this normative framework. 2 Neither does it present an analysis of the independence movement in Catalonia and the legal and political conflict it has generated. Instead, it presents some reflections that focus on the way these kinds of conflicts should be politically addressed in a context of interdependencies such as the one in Europe. Therefore, while this reflection is influenced by cases linked to sub-state nationalist claims, including the recent events in Catalonia, it does not apply specifically to any one set of facts.
