When Governments Collide

When Governments Collide: Competition Within Nations in Québec and Catalonia offers a comparative analysis of Québec and Catalonia from the perspective of minority cultures operating within broader states, where their cultures and identities sometimes come in conflict with that of the majority, focusing on language, immigration and foreign affairs policy.

Since the mid-to-late 20th century, Québec and Catalonia have been demanding greater powers from their respective federal or central governments. While Québec has obtained significant powers over key identity policies (language, immigration and international relations) from Ottawa, Catalonia has faced strong opposition from Madrid. This book looks at how each sub-state navigates its position within its federative context/environment, and how they negotiate and leverage policies in relation to their respective federal governments. It starts by exploring the external factors that have played a large role in allowing Québec to obtain more powers than Catalonia (such as the impact of Franco’s dictatorship on linguistic policy). Also central to the book’s analysis is the argument that incremental demands are more likely to be successful than sweeping requests. This “incrementalism” thesis suggests that minority nation governments are more likely to secure concessions from central political authorities by taking smaller, less provocative steps. While this strategy has practical implications, the book also addresses its limitations, noting that incrementalism may not always be feasible or effective.

This book will be of great interest to students and scholars of comparative public policy and politics, and nationalism, providing a timely perspective on forms of minority nationalism.