Dysfunctional Democracy? Regional Separatism and Asymmetric Government in Europe

One consistent trend in postwar Europe has been a steady process of decentralization of political and administrative authority, which has run in parallel with the growth of non-statewide political parties in several European countries. In some cases, demands for further sub-national autonomy have developed into demands for full separation and the creation of new national states. This paper discusses two such cases: Scotland and the United Kingdom, and Catalonia and Spain. It argues that decentralization reforms designed to satisfy demands for self-government and enhance political stability can be counter-productive, accelerating centrifugal forces. By creating new institutions of self-government which reward non-statewide political forces, reforms can incentivize such forces to scale up their demands to maintain political support, whilst at the same time offering them enhanced resources to construct social coalitions supportive of further decentralization. Similarly, these reforms place statewide parties under increased strain, by presenting them as allies of central government against the sub-national institutions. This process is briefly theorized and historical accounts of the Scottish and Catalan cases are presented to illustrate how institutional change, rather than subduing centrifugal pressures, leads to a ratcheting up of demands for decentralization and ultimately separation.