Arguments and counter-arguments for the right of secession

In this article, Marc Sanjaume sets out the main perspectives that political philosophy can offer with regards to the Catalan conflict. The first section addresses the reasons for secession according to existing theories; the second section contains a brief review of anti-secessionist arguments; the third focuses on the deliberative aspect of secession; and finally, the fourth section outlines a critique of the contractual approach to the right of secession devised by Pau Bossacoma in his work Justice and the legality of secession: a theory on national self-determination from Catalonia (Justícia i legalitat de la secessió: una teoria de l’autodeterminació nacional des de Catalunya).

This article forms part of issue 42 of the IDEES magazine, “The justice of secession”, published in print format between January and April 2016. The PDF article is available to download in Catalan below.