A Texan View on Secessionist Movements in Belgium and Spain

Eric Johnson

6 min read

I was born and raised in Texas and so I am familiar with the idea of secession. I can even remember seeing bumper stickers on people's cars that read "Secede!" from time to time as a kid growing up in Dallas. Texans’ fascination with secession is rooted in the fact that Texas was once a sovereign nation and entered the United States pursuant to a treaty that many argue preserves Texas' right to secede legally and unilaterally. This makes Texas different from every other state in the union (with the possible exception of Hawaii, which was also once a sovereign nation). It probably also makes us Texans less leery of the concept than most Americans, whose primary (and largely negative) association with the word is rooted in the American Civil War, when several Southern states illegally severed our union and engaged in open hostilities against our nation. However, even most Texans, including myself, view secession as a fantastical notion pushed only by a relatively small number of marginalized extremists.

European secession movements (and by extension, secessionist politicians), then, are of particular interest to me. Who would want to "go it alone" in these turbulent times? As it turns out, a lot of Europeans — or at least a lot of European politicians. I was very fortunate during my Marshall Memorial Fellowship trip not only to visit two European countries with very real secessionist movements — Belgium and Spain — but also to meet with high ranking officials in both countries who support independence for the Flemish and Catalonian people, respectively.

Jan Jambon is the deputy prime minister and interior minister for Belgium. He has the daunting responsibility of overseeing counterterrorism and homeland security for a country that houses NATO headquarters, the European Union, and European Parliament offices, and all of the foreign embassies to these organizations, in addition to the offices of the Belgian national government. More to the point, he has to protect one of the most target-rich environments in Europe (from the perspective of self-proclaimed Islamic State group and other terrorist organizations) from further damage in the wake of the March 2016 terrorist attacks in Brussels. Mr. Jambon's plate is full: so full that he tried to resign at one point, though Belgian Prime Minister Charles Michel would not accept his resignation.

Mr. Jambon got his current job as interior minister because he was a leader in the New Flemish Alliance Party, whose primary objective is to gain independence for Flanders, the Flemish part of Belgium. Mr. Jambon's party did well enough in the last national election to be included in the government, and as a result Mr. Jambon received a very high post. I met with him for an hour at his office inside the Ministry of Interior in Brussels. Over the course of an hour, Flemish independence did not come up once. Protecting the people of Belgium did, however, and Mr. Jambon, a former IBM executive, is trying to find better ways to do that, including several airport security improvements he discussed with me in great detail. During our meeting, it dawned on me that Mr. Jambon was not thinking with his secessionist hat anymore — he was thinking about the very serious matters that the interior minister of a sovereign nation state and EU member must handle. I could not help but wonder if Flemish nationalism, while real, is more of a political tool to gain greater influence and more resources for Flanders within the Belgian national government than it is reflective of a genuine desire to secede from Belgium and form a new Flemish state.

By contrast, the politicians I met with in Barcelona who support Catalonian secession talked of nothing except independence. These politicians had nothing positive to say about Madrid, and made it very clear that they “do not feel Spanish” and that the only thing that will satisfy the “two million Catalonians who took to the streets demanding independence” is a vote on the matter in very short order. Former MEP and vocal supporter of Catalonian secession, Raül Romeva, and I also met for an hour. The only topic of discussion was Catalonian secession. According to Mr. Romeva, principles of self-determination should trump Spanish law (which ostensibly bar a Catalonian vote on secession) and the Catalonian people should be allowed to vote on who governs them. Mr. Romeva was adamant that in the event the people of Catalonia voted to remain a part of Spain (a very real possibly considering that secession appears to, at best, enjoy 50 percent support among Catalonians), that decision would be respected. Independence through violence would not be an option for Catalonia, according to Mr. Romeva.

The difference between Mr. Jambon and Mr. Romeva is clear. Mr. Jambon and his party have become part of the power structure of Belgium and therefore Flemish nationalism has largely served its (true) purpose. Flemish influence in the Belgian government is at its apex, and talk of Flemish independence is at its nadir. Coincidence? I do not think so. Conversely, Madrid is leaning very hard on Catalonia. Catalonia was recently told that its ban on bull fighting was illegal and ordered by Madrid to allow it again — over the objections of Catalonia's local and supposedly autonomous government. Catalonia also does not wield power in Madrid commensurate with its economic heft, according to the secessionists. Catalonian politicians such as Mr. Romeva are quick to point out that Catalonia represents 20 percent of Spain's GDP, and should therefore get more attention — and respect — from Madrid.

Despite statements to the contrary by secessionist Catalonian politicians, I believe that if Madrid made certain overtures to Catalonia, you would see a drop in support for independence (or at least in talk of it), certainly among the people and probably even among the politicians. In fact, the secessionist movements in both Belgium and Spain appear to be more political tools designed to gain greater power and certain concessions within a nation state for a particular subgroup than practical solutions to any genuine problems associated with being part of a nation state. And given the track record of secessionist movements throughout history and their tendency to succeed only when accompanied by some measure of violence, I suppose we should all be grateful for that.

Eric Johnson, Member of the Texas House of Representatives, is a Fall 2016 American Marshall Memorial Fellow.

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^{Photo credit: Liz Castro}