On the “right to decide”

Sierra, Sonia and Javier Olivas, Jose (2013) On the “right to decide”. Euro Crisis in the Press (06 Dec 2013). Website.

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Abstract

As we have seen with regard to other dimensions of the Euro Crisis, the discussion about the Catalan independence in Spain has also brought to the fore an interesting struggle over the framing of the problem. Probably the most important example of this is the successful introduction in the political and journalistic debate of the “right to decide” as a concept substituting the “right of self-determination” or “right of secession”. The reasons for its great success are easy to grasp: everybody loves to have rights and “deciding” seems a natural characteristic of democracies. In the Catalan public sphere the right to decide has become almost unquestionable; anyone daring to contest this right has been quickly accused of being a poor democrat. According to the supporters of the “right to decide”, this must be exercised by means of a referendum or consultation about “the future of Catalonia”. The problem is that so far this “right to decide” has not been clearly defined and even among the proponents of such a referendum the interpretations of its scope and implications remain very vague. To the extent that the contradictions in what the “right to decide” means have created a fracture in the camp of those supporting the referendum. The Catalan Socialist Party, PSC, has already shown strong discrepancies concerning the organisations of the consultation.

Item Type:	Online resource (Website)
Official URL:	http://blogs.lse.ac.uk/eurocrisispress/
Additional Information:	© 2013 The Author(s)
Divisions:	LSE
Subjects:	H Social Sciences > HT Communities. Classes. Races J Political Science > JN Political institutions (Europe)
Date Deposited:	22 May 2017 13:56
Last Modified:	01 Jun 2024 17:30
URI:	http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/id/eprint/78204

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