Referendum Redux: Catalonia, Quebec and Lessons for Scotland

Citation

Brown Swan C & Cetra D (2021) Referendum Redux: Catalonia, Quebec and Lessons for Scotland. In: Scotland’s new choice: Independence after Brexit. Edinburgh: Centre on Constitutional Change, pp. 56-68. https://www.centreonconstitutionalchange.ac.uk/sites/default/files/2021-03/Scotlands-New-Choice.pdf

Abstract
First paragraph: As demands for a second Scottish independence referendum intensify, we look abroad to learn from the experience of nations which have held second votes on independence. We look to Quebec, which held referendums in 1980 and 1995, and to Catalonia, which held a non-binding vote in 2014 followed by a referendum in 2017. Quebec offers valuable insights about a second referendum that was state-tolerated, while Catalonia provides lessons about a second vote that was state-opposed – and, in fact, actively repressed after being declared unconstitutional. Together, these cases capture two contrasting experiences of constitutional referenda to the state-sanctioned Scottish referendum of 2014 and offer important insights for Scotland as it discusses its constitutional future.