BARCELONA, Catalonia, US legal scholar Timothy Waters says Catalonia should be part of a wider debate on whether secession can be a democratic right, not only a claim tied to history, injustice or colonial status. His new book, For a New Right to Secession, was originally published by Yale University and includes a prologue for Catalan readers plus adapted chapters.
The book, edited by VilaWeb, will be presented on Tuesday, 26 May, at 7pm at the Ateneu Barcelonès auditorium in Barcelona. Waters discussed the ideas in the book in a video interview, where he set out how independence could be organised under his proposed principles. For more Catalonia coverage, see our news page.
Waters argues that the current right to self-determination is widely accepted, but does not amount to a right to secession. He says its meaning has become very narrow since Woodrow Wilson's time, which makes it harder for movements such as those in Catalonia, Kurdistan, Tibet and among Navajo communities to pursue independence.
He also moves away from arguments based on justice or history, which he describes as deeply disputed. Instead, he says the key test should be whether there is democratic support for statehood, for example through elections. He adds that proximity matters politically, because people who live close to one another have a shared interest in the place they inhabit, and that should include all residents, regardless of origin or historical ties.
During a recent visit to Barcelona, Waters said he had very interesting conversations about immigration, both from other parts of Spain and from other countries. He noted that people with roots outside Catalonia are less likely to support independence, and said the movement's challenge is to persuade them. He also said recent arrivals matter if they have the right to vote in Catalan elections, while suggesting that undocumented immigrants might be treated differently.
Waters says recognising a right to secede could also make states more stable. He argued that if a state accepted the right to leave, it could improve internal relations and reduce tension. He said violence is already part of the world, and referred to the events of 2017 in Catalonia as serious, even if low compared with many other places. He also pointed to Scotland and Canada as examples where cooperation from the state helped avoid violence.
He said putting the idea into practice would be difficult through treaties, and suggested that states might instead copy each other's behaviour until a new norm takes hold. Waters stressed that he is speaking as an academic, not a political strategist, and said a formal human right is not essential. In his view, a right within the Spanish system, or even an informal set of norms, could be enough. He also praised the British model, which works without a written constitution and relies on evolving norms.
