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Breaking‐up within Europe: Sub‐state Nationalist Strategies in Multilevel Polities
Author(s) -
Cetrà Daniel,
Liñeira Robert
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
jcms: journal of common market studies
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.54
H-Index - 90
eISSN - 1468-5965
pISSN - 0021-9886
DOI - 10.1111/jcms.12710
Subject(s) - nationalism , independence (probability theory) , sovereignty , state (computer science) , political science , politics , european integration , political economy , european union , economy , development economics , international trade , sociology , economics , law , statistics , mathematics , algorithm , computer science
This article examines sub‐state nationalist strategies in relation to European integration in the Basque Country, Catalonia, Flanders and Scotland. First, we discuss the impact of European and economic integration on sovereignty and the cost of independence for small nations. Second, we compare the support for the European project in our four territories. We stress that European integration is a divisive issue in British politics but fundamentally consensual in the other cases. Third, we examine the European strategies of sub‐state nationalist parties. We distinguish between two broad strategies, one maximizing regional influence in the EU and the other promoting independence within the EU. Regarding the latter, we focus on the cases of Scotland and Catalonia, where sub‐state nationalist parties currently seek independence.