Rajoy leaves the Spanish Parliament in Madrid on Oct. 25, 2017.
AP Photo/Francisco Seco
Why the Spanish Prime Minister keeps choosing a strategy of confrontation.
EPA/Marta Perez
An ousted leader, a divided electorate and the risk of further violence pile on the tension ahead of the December vote.
Celebrations in Barcelona on October 27 were shortlived.
Quique Garcia/EPA
Just because the constitution says secession is illegal, it doesn’t mean it is under international law.
One side of the argument.
EPA/Marta Perez
Move by the senate in Madrid came just after the Catalan parliament voted for independence.
Protests in Barcelona on October 21 against the arrest of two Catalan nationalist leaders.
Toni Albir/EPA
Bid for Catalonian independence brings return of a divided Spain.
Franco visits Barcelona in 1942. Carlos Pérez de Rozas
Devoting all energies to fight over an imaginary border deflects attention from the real issues.
EPA/Enric Fontcuberta
The Spanish government is dealing with the Catalonian secession movement in entirely the wrong way. But what would getting it right look like?
Beverly Yuen Thompson/Flickr
Winning an independence referendum is the simple bit – It’s no easy trick to assert yourself on the world stage.
A young girl wearing the Spanish flag (right) walks with another young girl wearing an ‘estelada,’ or independence flag.
AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti
An expert explains why the EU is ill-equipped to handle a problem like Catalonia.
Pro-EU march in London, March 25, 2017.
Ilovetheeu/Wikimedia
Despite the peace and prosperity brought about by the EU, it continues to be seen as remote and antidemocratic. How can this be fixed ? One possibility is the creation of a Commissioner for Happiness.
EPA-EFE/Felipe Trueba
Despite the inevitable transition costs for both sides, there may also be some benefits to a split.
Now what?
EPA/Felipe Trueba
After threatening to declare independence, Carles Puigdemont has stepped back from the brink. But that has caused confusion.
Spanish National Police block people trying to reach a polling station in Barcelona, Spain, on Oct. 1. Catalan leaders accused Spanish police of brutality and repression.
AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)
The European Union is quick to condemn countries like Venezuela and Turkey when they engage in anti-democratic tactics. So why is it so silent on Spain’s treatment of the Catalan?
EPA/Alberto Estevez
The potential for more violence is clear unless the two sides can be brought to the negotiating table as soon as possible.
epa
Decentralisation, advanced training, civilian control, feminisation, unionisation and cultural change: the Spanish police are not a remnant of the Franco years
For some, Spain’s crackdown on the Catalonian independence vote has raised the specter of the country’s authoritarian past.
Reuters/Susana Vera
Why did the Spanish state forcefully quash Catalonia’s referendum for independence? It is rooted in the country’s nearly 40-year dictatorship and its transition to democracy.
Catalans protest the Spanish government crackdown after voting for independence.
Reuters/Yves Herman
Despite the passionate for which they are usually fought, independence movements are rarely successful and their outcomes less than hoped for.
A banner held up during a general strike in Catalonia on October 3.
Enric Fontcuberta/EPA
Here are the EU’s options.
People raise hands during a protest as Catalan regional police officers stand guard outside the
National Police station in Barcelona.
Reuters/Yves Herman
Both regions have held independence referendums that have returned overwhelming “yes” votes. But without international support, the road ahead will be a tough one.
EPA/Quique Garcia
The referendum that wasn’t a referendum can’t have a winner.