Guide to the 2014 Catalan Independence Referendum

A mural in Granollers (Vallès Oriental) in Catalonia supporting the independence referendum and the yes vote. From murals9n.blogspot.com.es This was an article written for One-Europe and posted in the week preceding the Catalan Independence Referendum on the 9th of November. It is meant as a brief description of the history, current situation, key players, and prospects for Catalonia, Spain, and Europe. On the 9th of November 2014 the 7.2 million inhabitants of Catalonia, currently one of the 17 Autonomous Regions of Spain, will vote on independence from Spain in a move labeled unconstitutional by the Spanish Constitutional Court and denounced as illegal by the Spanish government. The referendum,...

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How not to deal with separatist movements: The Catalan Example.

Stateless nations in Europe according to eurominority.eu. Catalonia is in the northeast of Spain. An article I recently wrote for the online media platform One-Europe. Reprinted here on my personal blog. Following the recent unexpected shift in momentum for the independence movements in Europe, particularly those of Scotland and Catalonia, EU policy makers in several states have too had to ask themselves one important question:  How do we reach a mutually beneficial, satisfactory, and above all peaceful solution to the issue of 'separatist' movements?  For a prime example of how policy makers should not act in the sensitive matter of separatism we can look south to the Spanish...

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Getting Organized: Notes

I find that part of being a successful academic is the skill with which you organize your thoughts, your work and your time. Much of this comes simply from experience. However, you can easily learn how to better structure your reading and note-taking. Here I supply my own methods, but you can just as well develop your own, or improve on mine. The most important thing is to get organized! Working in academia, you need to keep yourself well-informed about your subject. This goes for students, who need to digest a ton of new knowledge fast, and for experts, who need to keep themselves up to date on the research in their field. Both are faced with an immense amount of reading material. In order...

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