As opposed to the Scottish case, Madrid has not agreed on the referendum in Catalonia, as London did previously. Along with the neglect for the referendum there is a discourse that the future of all Spaniards, including those who live in Catalonia, has to be decided by all the population of Spain. Thus the main emphasis against a referendum is on its antidemocratic nature. Also, the official discourse is that there is not a Catalan nation, which was one of the main arguments to dispute and reject the Catalan Autonomous Estatut in 2010.
While most of the discoursive analysis focuses on the secessionist movements and their claims based on the idea of the nation, their historic singularities and economic benefits from independence, this paper shifts the focus on the establishment discourse to counter a rising secessionist movement, both in United Kingdom and Catalonia. How Madrid and London have framed their counter arguments against the increasing support for independence in Catalonia and Scotland in recent years.
