1. Collective Intentionality & Discourses about Secession in Catalonia Marc Collado-Ramirez Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona BSOG, 04/08/2014

2. The years of Francoism (1939-1975) 1. Timeline of the Catalonia/Spain relationship Spain (political entity) = Francoist regime

3. The transition to democracy (1975-1980) 1. Timeline of the Catalonia/Spain relationship Catalonia is associated with the pursuit for freedom Statute of 1979: Catalonia achieves autonomy

4. The first years of democracy (1980-2003) 1. Timeline of the Catalonia/Spain relationship The Catalan moderate-right-wing nationalist party ruled for 23 years Constant association between the ruling party, the President, and Catalonia “No one will do more for Catalonia. Jordi Pujol, the President.” “Everything will be better if Catalonia is strong in Madrid. Convergence and Union, the only Catalan party in Madrid. Jordi Pujol was imprisoned in 1960 for protesting against Franco.

5. The rise of the secessionist movement: five key events (2006-2014) 1. Timeline of the Catalonia/Spain relationship

6. Five key events for the rise of secessionism (2006-2014): 1: Catalonia votes a new Statute

7. 1. Timeline of the Catalonia/Spain relationship Partido Popular (the main right-wing party) starts a signature campaign against the new Statute of Autonomy for Catalonia A leader of Partido Socialista Obrero Español (the main left-wing party) says: “We have bumped off the Catalan Statute” Five key events for the rise of secessionism (2006-2014): 1: Catalonia votes a new Statute

8. The rise of the secessionist movement: five key events (2006-2014) 1. Timeline of the Catalonia/Spain relationship

9. Fiscal balance The two Spains Fiscal balances 2005 Fiscal gap (% over regional GDP) Positive budget balance Negative budget balance Five key events for the rise of secessionism (2006-2014): 2: The 2008 financial crisis strikes

10. 1. Timeline of the Catalonia/Spain relationship “[What could we do with the money from the Spanish fiscal pillage] every…” … second: give one free school meals grant … minute: hire a doctor … hour: build a preschool … day: introduce an additional hour of school … week: pay all the unemployment subsidies … month: stop all budget cuts in healthcare … year: build the Mediterranean Corridor train line My guess: Decl (Spanish government budget counts as fiscal pillage) Five key events for the rise of secessionism (2006-2014): 2: The 2008 financial crisis strikes

11. The rise of the secessionist movement: five key events (2006-2014) 1. Timeline of the Catalonia/Spain relationship

12. June 29 2010. The Spanish Constitutional Court denies Catalonia to be defined as a nation. Five key events for the rise of secessionism (2006-2014): 3: The Spanish courts against the Statute

13. 1. Timeline of the Catalonia/Spain relationship 2 weeks later… Five key events for the rise of secessionism (2006-2014): 3: The Spanish courts against the Statute

14. 1. Timeline of the Catalonia/Spain relationship “We are a nation. We decide.” 1.1 million people gather on July 10, 2010 in a rally against the court’s decision… Five key events for the rise of secessionism (2006-2014): 3: The Spanish courts against the Statute

15. 1. Timeline of the Catalonia/Spain relationship … and inside the rally some start claiming for secession. Five key events for the rise of secessionism (2006-2014): 3: The Spanish courts against the Statute

16. 1. Timeline of the Catalonia/Spain relationship PP wins Spanish election The rise of the secessionist movement: five key events (2006-2014)

17. 1. Timeline of the Catalonia/Spain relationship

18. September 11, 2012. 1.5 million gather in a rally that explicitly claims secession. It is endorsed by the regional government. Five key events for the rise of secessionism (2006-2014): 3: The Spanish courts against the Statute

19. The rise of the secessionist movement: four key events (2006-2014) 1. Timeline of the Catalonia/Spain relationship In just three months, following the massive rally, the support for secession boosted from 32% to 48% in the polls.

20. The Catalan political system 2. Interesting data from polls Parliament of Catalonia (as resulted from the 2012 election) Catalan Nationalism NATIONAL AXIS Spanish Nationalism Left Right SOCIAL AXIS

21. The political party you vote is related with supporting secession* 2. Interesting data from polls Source: Centre d’Estudis d’Opinio, January 2015 *I will make this assumption from now on.

22. Supporting secession has to do with how you define yourself as Catalan / as Spanish 2. Interesting data from polls Source: Centre d’Estudis d’Opinio, January 2015

23. Supporting secession has to do with how you define yourself as Catalan / as Spanish 2. Interesting data from polls Source: Centre d’Estudis d’Opinio, January 2015

24. Supporting secession has to do with the place where you or your family is from 2. Interesting data from polls Political parties in favor of secession Political parties opposed to secession Political party * Place of birth of mother Born in Catalonia Born anywhere else in Spain

25. Supporting secession has to do with the place where you or your family is from 2. Interesting data from polls Political parties in favor of secession Political parties opposed to secession People born in Catalonia with parents from the rest of Spain People born in Catalonia with parents from Catalonia People born in Spain Political party * Place of origin

26. Being Catalan or Spanish has to do with the TV channel in which you watch the news 2. Interesting data from polls Source: Centre d’Estudis d’Opinio, January 2015 Spanish-wide TV channels Catalonia-wide TV channels

27. Supporting secession has to do with the TV channel in which you watch the news 2. Interesting data from polls Source: Centre d’Estudis d’Opinio, January 2015 Political party * TV channel Political parties in favor of secession Political parties opposing secession

28. Supporting secession has to do with speaking Catalan or Spanish 2. Interesting data from polls Source: Centre d’Estudis d’Opinio, January 2015

29. Supporting secession has to do with speaking Catalan or Spanish 2. Interesting data from polls Source: Centre d’Estudis d’Opinio, January 2015

30. Supporting secession has to do with defining yourself as Catalan 2. Interesting data from polls Source: Centre d’Estudis d’Opinio, January 2015

31. Coming to support secession has to do with opposition against the Spanish gov’t 2. Interesting data from polls Source: Centre d’Estudis d’Opinio, January 2015 What is the main reason for which you have become a secessionist in the last few years? Bad attitudes and attacks from the Spanish government toward Catalonia 41,96% Economic issues / Unfair share of tax money13,18% The change will help the country to improve8,39% Other6,24% Crisis6,17% Political system5,67% Raised awareness of the issue in the last years5,05% Language and Catalan culture2,52% Ideology2,38% Self-determination / Self-government2,15% Budget cuts0,78%

32. Language Filiation / Kin / Rootedness Oppositional discourse Basic features of Catalan national identification 3. Basic theoretical framework (Centre d’Estudis d’Opinio 2013)

33. (in Catalonia!) ‘State’ for ‘nation’ metonymy Ambiguous opposition to all nationalisms Hesitation in use of symbols Basic features of Spanish national identification 3. Basic theoretical framework (Centre d’Estudis d’Opinio 2013)

34. “The German political field of 1933 was characterized not only by a specific conception of time but also by one of space. […] Political institutions and actions are generally meant to benefit a specific local condition. They are meant to obtain, hold, and enhance the locale of a certain group of people. […] Political space is characteristically taken to be the homeland of a people in the sense that it is either the place of their actual possession, the site of their presumed origin, or a place they aspire to. The group may be seen as a linguistic, cultural, or economic community: as a family, tribe, or race; as one body pursuing future happiness. All these forms of description flow together in the common concept of nation.” (Sluga 1993) The Nation 3. Basic theoretical framework

35. The modern concept of a nation is difficult to pin down. There are multitude of criteria. […] What stands out in these efforts [by the Germans] is the fact that the definition of the political group and its space was conceived in terms of a sharp boundary and a complete opposition. […] Carl Schmitt could therefore quite plausibly maintain that politics was based on the distinction between friend and enemy.” (Sluga 1993) The Nation 3. Basic theoretical framework

36. The Collective Network 1.The satisfaction of the content of an intentional state stands against a Network of other intentional states. Statement:Bel (Spain robs Catalonia) Network: Bel (Spain is a state) Bel (Catalonia is an autonomous community of Spain) Bel (The Spanish state collects taxes) Bel (People living in Catalonia are citizens of the Spanish state) Bel (The Spanish state collects taxes from people living in Catalonia) Des (Money from Catalan taxpayers stays in Catalonia) Bel (Tax collection from Catalonia is bigger than investment in Catalonia) Bel (There are 16 millions of euros that go to Madrid and never go back) Bel (Spanish people’s standard of living is paid by taxpayers in Catalonia) 3. Basic theoretical framework

37. The Collective Network 2.In order for an intentional state to be true, the Network needs also to be true. Statement:Bel (Spain robs Catalonia) Network: Bel (Spain is a state) Bel (The Spanish state collects taxes) Bel (People living in Catalonia are citizens of the Spanish state) Bel (The Spanish state collects taxes from people living in Catalonia) Des (Money from Catalan taxpayers stays in Catalonia) Bel (Tax collection from Catalonia is bigger than investment in Catalonia) Bel (There are 16 millions of euros that go to Madrid and never go back) Bel (Spanish people’s standard of living is paid by taxpayers in Catalonia) 3. Basic theoretical framework

38. The Collective Network 3.We can give a variety of supportive intentional states in the Network. Some intentional states are required by themselves. Some others are required as meaning-fillers (we need to have at least some of them). Statement:Bel (Spain robs Catalonia) Network: Bel (Spain is a state) Bel (The Spanish state collects taxes) Bel (People living in Catalonia are citizens of the Spanish state) Bel (The Spanish state collects taxes from people living in Catalonia) Des (Money from Catalan taxpayers stays in Catalonia) Bel (Tax collection from Catalonia is bigger than investment in Catalonia) Bel (There are 16 millions of euros that go to Madrid and never go back) Bel (Spanish people’s standard of living is paid by taxpayers in Catalonia) 3. Basic theoretical framework

39. The Collective Network 4.Collective intentional states exist thanks to collective representation. The content of a collective belief is true if there is collective representation of it being true. They can not be considered true if there is no collective recognition. Statement:Bel (Spain robs Catalonia) Network: Bel (Spain is a state) Bel (The Spanish state collects taxes) Bel (People living in Catalonia are citizens of the Spanish state) Bel (The Spanish state collects taxes from people living in Catalonia) Des (Money from Catalan taxpayers stays in Catalonia) Bel (Tax collection from Catalonia is bigger than investment in Catalonia) Bel (There are 16 millions of euros that go to Madrid and never go back) Bel (Spanish people’s standard of living is paid by taxpayers in Catalonia) 3. Basic theoretical framework

40. The aim of this research 4. First results Provide evidence in discourse that there is not only a political and social divide, but also a cognitive divide between the secessionist Catalans and the non-secessionist Catalans Provide cognitive mechanisms to explain in what consists the divide Justify that there is a close relationship between Decl (someone is catalan) and Des (secession) Describe the Network of intentional states of Des (secession)

41. The illocutionary force of being Catalan 4. First results Declaration or only Belief? Decl (I am Catalan) – I make the case that I am a Catalan by declaring that I am a Catalan – Status function: “I” count as “Catalan” in Catalonia – Stands against a Network of other intentional states. Requires their satisfaction in order for the Declaration to be valid. – Being Catalan requires collective recognition – What deontic powers could this have? Wait until the next slide…

42. The illocutionary force of being Catalan 4. First results Declaration or only Belief? Decl (I am Catalan) – Positive powers: right to vote, right to be part of the culture, to engage in civic life, right to judge about “Catalanity” of other people, right to speak publicly without being contested, right to be considered a good citizen … – Negative powers: to respect the traditions and observe the holidays (e.g. Sant Jordi instead of Saint Valentine’s), to defend your country (e.g. in Christmas dinner arguments), supporting secession, attend the rally on September 11 … – I don’t think the deontic powers I have found at this time are strong enough, but pretty banal. I don’t find how negative powers create desire-independent reasons for action, except for the case of the duty of supporting secession (that leads to attending rallies and meetings). The alternative: Bel (I am Catalan) – Instead of status function declaration, collective belief. – No deontic powers attached to being Catalan.

43. The two main Networks of support 4. First results Decl (I am Catalan) Bel (I live and work in Catalonia) Des (to be Catalan)

44. The two main Networks of support 4. First results Bel (I live and work in Catalonia) Bel (I have lived in Catalonia for a certain number of years) Bel (I work in Catalonia) Bel (I fulfill my obligation to abide by the laws of the Catalan government)

45. The two main Networks of support 4. First results Des (to be Catalan) It is a subset of the Network of Bel (I live and work in Catalonia) It requires commitment to additional intentional states (e.g.): Des (to be publicly recognized as Catalan) Des (to speak Catalan) Love (Catalonia) My argument: Des(to be Catalan) necessarily entails Des (secession) Bel (Catalan people pursue the best interest for Catalonia) Bel (Catalonia is a nation) Bel (nations have the right to become states) Des (Catalonia to be a state) Decl (those who oppose secession are not Catalans) OR Decl (opposing secession is being a bad Catalan) Others are not required but reinforce the feeling: Bel (Catalonia has been oppressed by Spain for 300 years) Decl (those who are against secession are enemies of Catalonia)

46. The two main Networks of support 4. First results Bel (I live and work in Catalonia) Des (to speak Catalan) is not required Bel (being Catalan is compatible with being Spanish) Love (Catalonia) is not required Des (secession) is not required Decl (people who live and work in Catalonia count as Catalans) Decl (people who don’t pursue Catalan identity count as bad Catalans) Des (to be Catalan) Des (to speak Catalan) is required Bel (being Catalan is not compatible with being Spanish) Love (Catalonia) is required Des (secession) is required Decl (people who live and work in Catalonia count as Catalans) Decl (people who live and work in Catalonia AND want to be Catalan count as [Catalans / good Catalans]) Decl (people who don’t pursue Catalan identity count as bad Catalans)

47. Subsets of the Network for Des (secession) 4. First results Giving arguments in favor of secession is stating an element of the Network of Des (secession). For different groups of people, there are different sources of supporting the desire for secession.

48. Economic secessionism 4. First results Bel (Spain robs Catalonia) Bel (Spanish tax redistribution is unfair) Des (tax money from Catalonia stays in Catalonia) Des (Catalonia to be richer) Bel (an independent Catalonia would be richer) Bel (Catalonia is transferring money to poor regions of Spain) Bel (Catalonia is productive) Bel (poor regions of Spain are unproductive) Bel (poor regions of Spain don’t deserve money) Like (fiscal sovereignty) Dislike (fiscal solidarity)

49. Economic secessionism 4. First results “Spain robs us 6000 million euros in fiscal pillage every year”

50. Economic secessionism 4. First results Bel (Spain robs Catalonia) Bel (Spanish tax redistribution is unfair) Des (tax money from Catalonia stays in Catalonia) Des (Catalonia to be richer) Bel (an independent Catalonia would be richer) Bel (Catalonia is transferring money to poor regions of Spain) Bel (Catalonia is productive) Bel (poor regions of Spain are unproductive) Bel (poor regions of Spain don’t deserve money) Like (fiscal sovereignty) Dislike (fiscal solidarity)

51. Economic secessionism 4. First results “Catalonia is the third region in paying taxes, and the tenth in receiving spending”

52. Economic secessionism 4. First results

53. Economic secessionism 4. First results Bel (Spain robs Catalonia) Bel (Spanish tax redistribution is unfair) Des (tax money from Catalonia stays in Catalonia) Des (Catalonia to be richer) Bel (an independent Catalonia would be richer) Bel (Catalonia is transferring money to poor regions of Spain) Bel (Catalonia is productive) Bel (poor regions of Spain are unproductive) Bel (poor regions of Spain don’t deserve money) Like (fiscal sovereignty) Dislike (fiscal solidarity)

54. Economic secessionism 4. First results “The Subsidized Spain lives on behalf of the Productive Catalonia”

55. Economic secessionism 4. First results “I am sponsoring a public servant in Extremadura. The pay that I am taken away of, it is paid to him”

56. Identity-based secessionism 4. First results Love (Catalonia) Des (Catalonia to preserve its language) Des (Catalonia is culturally homogeneous) Hate (Spain) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ExKoCalwxrA Special case: The secessionism of revisionist historians http://www.inh.cat

57. Identity-based secessionism 4. First results “My strategy for the game that we play in Catalonia is that the ones from home agree with each other.”

58. Identity-based secessionism 4. First results Love (Catalonia) Des (Catalonia to preserve its language) Des (Catalonia is culturally homogeneous) Hate (Spain) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ExKoCalwxrA Special case: The secessionism of revisionist historians http://www.inh.cat

59. Civic secessionism 4. First results Bel (Catalonia is more civilized than Spain) Des (to have an efficient state) Bel (an independent Catalonia would be more efficient than Spain) Des (to have a fair redistribution of wealth) Bel (an independent Catalonia would be more fair than Spain) Bel (there is no corruption in Catalonia)

60. Civic secessionism 4. First results “Corruption in Catalonia is a consequence of the Spanish-ation of Catalonia in the last decades. In which foundation was Millet [convicted in the biggest case of corruption in the last 20 years] a donor? Of FAES [PP’s foundation]! ”

61. Civic secessionism 4. First results Bel (Catalonia is more civilized than Spain) Des (to have an efficient state) Bel (an independent Catalonia would be more efficient than Spain) Des (to have a fair redistribution of wealth) Bel (an independent Catalonia would be more fair than Spain) Bel (there is no corruption in Catalonia)

62. Secessionism as “wish box” 4. First results We would be able to do out of Spain what we can’t do now. https://www.araeslhora.cat/

63. Philosophical discussion 5. Discussion and implications Are there Catalans and non-Catalans? or are there good Catalans and bad Catalans? Are there any deontic powers attached to these roles? What is the role of the state structure in the diffusion of Declarations? What is the role of political power creating deontic powers?

64. Political implications of my research 5. Discussion and implications The inequality of public speech and public opinion: – Secessionists self-legitimate themselves – Non-secessionist public speakers are constantly attacked Secessionism awards rationality to itself – The discourse of convincement: it is rational to embrace secession it is irrational to refuse the arguments for secession – But it’s not about irrationality, it’s about reciprocal non-resonation!

65. Political implications of my research 5. Discussion and implications The Catalan divide between secessionists and non-secessionists (a political, and social divide) is rooted in cognition. – Opposed intentional states about secession require mutually exclusive Networks of statements. – E.g. what holds for Decl (I am a Catalan)? Non-secessionist mindset: Bel (I can be Catalan and Spanish) is necessarily true Secessionist mindset: Bel(I can be Catalan and Spanish) is necessarily false – What holds for the Collective Network of Decl (a person who Des (to be Catalan) counts as a Catalan) necessarily contradicts the Collective Network of Decl (a person, for the ONLY fact of living or working in Catalonia counts as a Catalan)