Frontrunners but different games? Comparing Catalan and Basque paradiplomacy towards the EU

Abstract

ABSTRACTThis article compares Basque and Catalan mobilisation towards the EU over the period from 1992 to 2022. The contrasting trajectories of these regions are approached through the conceptual framework of ‘paradiplomacy’ and ‘protodiplomacy’. Building on a combination of primary and secondary sources, six explanatory variables are selected and the observed patterns compared across time. Both cases alternate between cooperation and benign neglect, becoming politically controversial only when the regions overtly express claims for self-determination; however, only the Catalan case involves a severe and lasting political conflict. Although the strategies are framed by the broader structures of opportunity imposed by the EU, our research shows that the most salient features of these contrasting trajectories are deeply rooted in the idiosyncrasies of the Spanish political system and individual leadership styles. These findings help us to understand the scope and limits of paradiplomacy in other settings in which the continuum between intergovernmental cooperation, conflict and benign neglect has repercussions beyond state borders in the EU.KEYWORDS: CataloniaBasque countryparadiplomacyprotodiplomacyintergovernmental relationsEuropean Union DISCLOSURE STATEMENTNo potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).ETHICS STATEMENTWritten informed consent was obtained from the study participants, who were given a detailed project information sheet to read in advance of our interviews. All persons interviewed were informed about the purpose of the research and they all have given their formal consent to use the information provided. All interviews were conducted in compliance with the ethical standards of the journal. Interviewees 2022b, 2022c, 2022d and 2022e have given their formal consent to be mentioned by name; the others have been anonymised.Notes1 See: https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/STATEMENT_17_3626 accessed June 2023.2 See: https://audiovisual.ec.europa.eu/en/video/I-144917 accessed June 2023.3 See: https://www.catalannews.com/politics/item/junts-members-vote-to-leave-the-catalan-government accessed June 2023.4 See: https://consellrepublica.cat accessed June 2023.5 See: https://www.lasprovincias.es/politica/govern-abrira-seis-20220307115305-ntrc.html accessed June 2023.6 The full statement of Serret can be found here: https://exteriors.gencat.cat/en/ambits-dactuacio/afers_exteriors/delegacions_govern/ accessed February 2023.7 Independentist political party-coalition, Herri Batasuna, was banned in 2003 by the Spanish Supreme Court, in a decision later validated by the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) in 2009, which declared proven allegations of being financed by ETA and thus organically in abeyance to it.8 See Sandro Pozzi’s chronicle ‘Bruselas rechaza de plano la propuesta de Ibarretxe porque no tiene encaje en la Unión Europea’, El País https://elpais.com/diario/.html accessed June 2023.9 See on RLEG: https://rleg.eu accessed June 2023.10 See ‘RLEG calls for a greater involvement of regions with legislative powers in the policy-making and implementation process in the EU’ in https://rleg.eu/news/rleg-calls-greater-involvement-regions-legislative-powers-policy-making-and-implementation accessed June 2023.Additional informationFundingThis study was conducted with the support of the Coppieters Foundation [grant number EP-FINS-2020-17]. It also received the support of the Research Center in Political Science, University of Minho, through national funds granted by the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology and the Portuguese Ministry of Education and Science (UIDB/CPO/00758/2020).