Abstract:
This article addressed the legal aspects of the recent rise of separatist nationalism in three of Europe's most prominent "stateless nations" -- Flanders in Belgium, Scotland in the United Kingdom, and Catalonia in Spain. Flemish, Scottish, and Catalan nationalists often couch their calls for independence in the language of the right to self-determination. Yet although self-determination is a mainstay of nationalist political rhetoric, it possesses only limited utility as a legal right. Self-determination represents a challenge to the principles of sovereignty and territorial integrity that underpin the international system of states. Under current conceptions of international law, Flanders, Scotland, and Catalonia do not possess a right to statehood.
But the changing nature of statehood in Europe adds a new dimension to the analysis of self-determination claims. As the Scottish nationalist slogan "Independence in Europe" suggests, separatists have tethered the goal of sovereign statehood to the "post-sovereign" realities of the European Union. Accordingly, factors such as the respective roles of states and regions within the EU, the rules governing EU membership, and the debates over the future of European integration occasioned by the "eurozone crisis" strongly influence the prospects for Flemish, Scottish, and Catalan nationalism. The article explores the meaning of "Independence in Europe" in light of the right to self-determination and the process of European integration, demonstrating how the latter offers new ways of looking at the former, and suggesting how international law and state practice might evolve to reflect new realities at a time when the state is being challenged both from above and from below.
Number of Pages in PDF File: 68
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