Catalan International View
Issue 18 • Autumn 2014 • € 5
A European Review of the World
Credit, bubbles and economic models
by Jaume Ventura
The EU: better reformed than sorry
by Laura Pous
Is it a bird, is it a plane? No, it’s Putin
by Nico Valle
US Foreign policy towards Africa: time for change?
by Laia Tarragona
Catalonia, Southern Europe’s economic engine
by Felip Puig
Desmond Tutu by Francesc de Dalmases Cover Artist: Agustí Puig Interview:
sections:
Europe · Business, Law & Economics · Africa · Asia · Opinion
A Short Story from History · Barcelona Echoes · The Artist · Universal Catalans · A Poem
Editor
Víctor Terradellas
vterradellas@catmon.cat Director Francesc de Dalmases
director@international-view.cat Art Director
Quim Milla
designer@international-view.cat
Editorial Board
Martí Anglada Enric Canela Salvador Cardús August Gil-Matamala Montserrat Guibernau Guillem López-Casasnovas Manuel Manonelles Fèlix Martí Eva Piquer Ricard Planas Clara Ponsatí Arnau Queralt Vicent Sanchis Mònica Terribas Montserrat Vendrell Carles Vilarrubí Vicenç Villatoro Chief Editor
Judit Aixalà Jordi Fexas
Language Advisory Service
Nigel Balfour Júlia López Coordinator
Ariadna Canela
coordinator@international-view.cat Webmaster
Gemma Lapedriza Cover Art
Agustí Puig The reproduction of the artwork on the front cover is thanks to an agreement between the Artist and Fundació CATmón Executive Production
Positive & Negative
Contents
4......... Hong Kong, the Umbrella Revolution ...........Sarajevo in Kurdistan To Our Readers
5......... Scotland: a victory for the democratic option
by Víctor Terradellas
Europe
8......... Merkel is not the problem!
by Adam Casals
12........ The EU: better reformed than sorry .............. by Laura Pous
Business, Law & Economics
18........ Credit, bubbles and economic models .............. by Jaume Ventura The Americas - Africa
24........ US foreign policy towards Africa: time for change? .............. by Laia Tarragona A Snapshot
30........ A ‘V’ in Barcelona: 2.2 million people claiming for democracy Interview
32........ Desmond Tutu
.............. by Francesc de Dalmases Opinion
36........ Catalonia, Southern Europe’s economic engine .............. by Felip Puig
40........ Is it a bird, is it a plane? No, it’s Putin .............. by Nico Valle
Headquarters, Administration and Subscriptions
Fonollar, 14 08003 Barcelona Catalonia (Europe) Tel.: + 34 93 533 42 38 Fax: + 34 93 319 22 24 www. international-view.cat
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© Edicions de la Fundació CATmón. All rights reserved. Neither this publication nor any part of it may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, protocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission of Edicions de la Fundació CATmón.
48........ Where is the Kantian peace? .............. by Helena Vicente
52........ International strategic action from the local world .............. by Joan Carles Garcia Barcelona Echoes
56........ Barcelona by sea and air .............. by Elisabeth McWilliams
60....... Universal Catalans .............Pau Casals A Poem
67........ Unity
by Pere Gimferrer
Printed in Catalonia by Cevagraf s.c.c.l.
A Short Story from History
With the support of
The Artist
Published quarterly
Departament de Presidència
68..........The Dalmases Embassy and the Case of the Catalans (IV)
70........ Agustí Puig
Catalan International View
Positive & Negative by Francesc de Dalmases
Hong Kong, the Umbrella Revolution
Throughout September and October Hong Kong witnessed a series of mass demonstrations in what grew into the largest prodemocracy movement in China since the Tiananmen Square protests of 1989. It therefore appears as if the political situation will shift slightly toward the possibility of a democratic future for this country of some 7.2 million inhabitants. Before the demonstrations became front-page news around the world, there was no hope of meaningful negotiations between the defenders of democracy and a government that has stubbornly clung to Beijing’s policies. The demonstrations have allowed preliminary agreements to be established, and the student-led movement has joined forces with Hong Kong’s democratic deputies. ‘At least we have been able to put enough pressure on the government to force them to start a dialogue. They know that political reform is on the table. Until now no one saw it as an option’, observes Albert Ho, former leader of the Democratic Party and candidate in the 2012 Chief Executive election.
Sarajevo in Kurdistan
Also in recent months we have heard of the siege of the Kurdish city of Kobane and the subsequent fight against the forces of the Islamic State. It is happening at a time when Washington is carrying out air strikes against the Islamic State’s key strategic positions and when Germany has revealed that it is providing weapons and training to Kurds in order to fight on Syrian and Iraqi soil. Nonetheless, inexplicably, this entire war machine seems unable to save the Kurdish city. In Europe the siege of Kobane has been a bitter pill to swallow. It appears as if everything we saw and heard in Kobane was a repeat of what we saw and heard in Bosnia during the siege of Sarajevo. Nevertheless, the outcome was equally as bloody. Once more Europe appears to be lacking a genuine, proactive, common foreign policy which would enable it to anticipate, negotiate and mediate in regional conflicts of a global nature. 4
Catalan International View
To Our Readers
Scotland: a victory for the democratic option by VĂctor Terradellas
On 10th January 2012, the First Minister of Scotland Alex Salmond announced that a referendum on Scottish independence was to be held on September 18th 2014. In keeping with the January 2012 agreement made by the British government, headed by Prime Minister James Cameron, the referendum received the backing and the support of the UK government and Westminster as a whole. It took place thanks to an agreement which temporarily granted Scotland the power to hold it. The democratic path which culminated in the referendum began in 2009 with the creation of accords between various civic and social organizations, together with the Scottish National Party (SNP), ensuring a solid social and political foundation in support of the referendum. These agreements ensured that the SNP secured an absolute majority in the 2011 Scottish Parliamentary elections, thus validating their democratic proposal. This in turn led to the launch of the Yes Scotland campaign, on 25th May 2012, led by the SNP, together with the Scottish Green Party and the Scottish Socialist
Party. A month later, on 25th June 2012, the ‘No’ campaign was launched with the slogan Better Together. It received significant support from London, in the form of the Labour Party, the Conservative Party and the Liberal Democrats.
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To Our Readers
On 18th September 2014, Scottish society, thanks to legal and democratic guarantees, responded to the question ‘Should Scotland be an independent country?’. The sequence of political agreements and the democratic spirit with which they were carried out, allow one to claim that Scotland came out the clear winner in this process. The men and women of Scotland decided their future in agreement with the state of which they are currently a part, with the respect and recognition of their neighbours and the international community at large. Ultimately, it is clear that Scottish society tended mostly towards the ‘no’ in answer to the question ‘Should Scotland be an independent country?’. Nevertheless, the effective exercise of democracy represented by the process which preceded it, the campaign leading up to it, the day of the referendum itself and the way in which the result has been accepted by both sides means it has exceeded all of its expectations. For four years we have witnessed the unfolding of this resounding victory for democracy which has had the Scottish Parliament at its epicentre, which has affected the entirety of Scottish society and which also received the backing and the support of the UK government and Westminster as a whole. I would like to publicly congratulate the Scottish Nationalist Party and its leader Alex Salmond in particular, for their splendid work and for having shown that democracy is not a hostage to the law, but rather that the law ought to guarantee and protect democracy and every society’s right to decide. 6
Likewise, I greatly respect the rest of the UK’s reaction to the referendum, as expressed by their Prime Minister David Cameron with his commitment to a new era in relations between London and Edinburgh. This in turn ought to bring about a new form of Devolution and ensure new levels of self-rule for both the government and the Scottish parliament. Cameron gave his word before the referendum and now is the time for him to show he will keep his promise. Finally, and in spite of the conviction that the Scottish and Catalan processes are not comparable, one cannot help but remark on the profound differences between the British and Spanish governments. These are especially visible when one compares the scrupulous democratic behaviour of the government in London, with the obstinate negative issued by the Madrid government when it comes to facilitating Catalan society’s free democratic expression. Madrid’s handling of the situation is in stark contrast to the democratic determination of the Catalan government, led by president Mas, the Parliament of Catalonia (who worked together to reach an agreement on the date and question to be used in the referendum) and the majority of Catalan society which has been able to publicly express their democratic will through, civil, peaceful, good-natured, mass demonstrations. These have been particularly wellattended during the last three National Days of Catalonia (celebrated on the 11th of September). This year saw nearly two million people take to the streets of Barcelona calling for democracy and the right to vote as the only valid means by which to resolve political conflicts.
Catalan International View
Tel. +34 977 757 473 · +34 977 756 265 • Fax +34 977 771 129 Camí Pedra Estela, 34 • 43205 Reus (Baix Camp) www.demuller.es
Europe
Merkel is not the problem! by Adam Casals*
The newfound awareness of the desire of Catalonia’s people, government and civil society to organize an independence referendum lies behind Germany’s growing interest in this issue. When Chancellor Merkel speaks out against the Catalans’ aspirations, she is acknowledging that she takes them seriously. At the time of Yugoslavia’s disintegration, Jacques Delors also claimed that Slovenia would never be allowed into the EEC. Nevertheless, Germany’s brisk reunification and East Germany’s entry into the European Union would not have been possible if the principle of territorial integrity had been adhered to. Germany won the World Cup this summer and would like to be in the driver’s seat. Only 800km away from the Ukraine, the difficult geostrategic situation with regards to Russia is setting the agenda, marked by threats to the energy supply and the development 8
Catalan International View
of the logistics infrastructure between Europe and Asia. In light of America’s ongoing loss of interest in the region, new energy, security and defence policies for Eastern Europe urgently need to be designed. Following a meeting at the CIDOB (Barcelona Centre for International Affairs), the veteran Israeli diplomat Shlomo Ben Ami revealed a willingness to accept a greater role for Germany in defence policies in Europe and the Middle East. In Spain, the Central Government’s new budget signals a will to maintain an unbalanced situation rather than fixing the still-ailing economy and the incredibly high unemployment rate. Once again Catalonia, its citizens and businesses were penalised. With some 16%
Europe
of the population and a GDP of almost 20%, Spain’s overall investment is to be a paltry 9.5%. This is unprecedented among OECD countries, given the fact that 50% of newly-created jobs in Spain in the last year originated in Catalonia, one of the main economic engines driving the recovery in the area. Meanwhile, massive investments in Pharaonic-like projects such as the new AVE high-speed train routes are symptomatic of the Rajoy government’s inability to put an end to the growing deficit, which could worsen if interest rates rise in the medium term. There is concern regarding the consequences for the Eurozone and Germany clearly does not want more problems in the West. The Handelsblatt acknowledged
the existence of German economic risk assessments in the situation in Catalonia, though this should not be perceived as a factor of instability.
Germany’s brisk reunification and East Germany’s entry into the European Union would not have been possible if the principle of territorial integrity had been adhered to A senior German official recalled the awkward consequences of Croatia receiving diplomatic recognition as a new state. Back then, Hans-Dietrich Genscher resorted to historical arguCatalan International View
9
Europe
ments in order to convince Helmut Kohl. However, in the Catalan case the reasons would be more powerful due to Germany’s important commercial, industrial and financial interests in the country.
Since all attempts to reform Spain have so far failed, the best solution to extracting southern Europe from the depths of an endemic and systemic crisis ought to come from Catalonia The senior analyst Kai-Olaf Lang skilfully argues that on rare occasions, maintaining the status quo can mean making big changes. In this case, Germany and Europe should take sides and 10
Catalan International View
do so from a pragmatic point-of-view. The arrival of the new German consul in Barcelona, Rainer Eberle, is also relevant. An ambassador and acknowledged expert in conflict resolution, Eberle is open to dialogue without prejudice. Catalonia ought to see Germany as a key player that will be able to have significant influence regarding the feasibility of eventual independence. A recent article by Francesc Granell stressed the importance of sending the right messages, and in turn the ability to convince the major European political parties. Arguments supporting the Catalan cause should be rewritten from the viewpoint of German interests. The results are compelling: Catalonia shares its history and values with Carolingian Central Europe. Since all at-
Europe
tempts to reform Spain have so far failed, the best solution to extracting southern Europe from the depths of an endemic and systemic crisis ought to come from Catalonia, a cutting-edge country with a surplus of creative talent. The new country should be based on the criteria of excellence that fosters wealth creation and welfare, thus making it more attractive. Catalonia will pay its corresponding share of the Spanish state’s debt, contributing to stability, as well as becoming the catalyst for a new economic and social development of Spain, whose future viability will allay any fears the Eurozone might have. The country should also be involved in the viability of Europe as a laboratory of ideas for the governance and management of new models of society; at a time of multiple challenges and changes at all levels and on a global scale. Upon arrival in Germany, it will be necessary to access, discuss, argue and generate sympathies among the representatives of the political system and civil society, as well as industrial, economic and financial circles with decision-making capabilities and the ability to exercise influence. This should be done actively, with the utmost discretion, in fluent German, in the pursuit of synergies. The arguments motivating the people of Catalonia must be explained, as to why they are willing to decide, by peaceful and democratic means as to their own future as an independent state, considering the consequences, risks, and actual contingency plans provided in each case.
Catalans may win this if they really want to and are diligent enough to see it through until the end, proving that Chancellor Merkel and Germany won’t prove to be a problem, but rather a means to find the right solution.
*Adam Casals Senior strategic consultant & International Relations expert, focused on Central European and German speaking countries. Building communication bridges beyond cultural and linguistic barriers, he helps fostering growth and achieving goals in companies, institutions and organizations. His newest projects are related to the engineering, research, energy and creative industries. He is involved in consulting and procurement projects related to European and multilateral institutions. He also writes opinion pieces for the Ara newspaper.
Catalan International View
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Europe
The EU: better reformed than sorry by Laura Pous*
‘I’m just back from Europe’. It’s not unusual to hear such a comment from a British person when he or she arrives back in the United Kingdom following a visit to France, Belgium or any other continental European country. It appears to be a symptom of an ‘island mentality’ and as such is not so surprising, all things considered. Nevertheless, on such occasions I like to remind them that London is in Europe too. Or at least for the time being, because if UKIP gets its way and Cameron fails to secure a new deal for the United Kingdom within the European Union in the next few years, they might well leave by the back door. And it’s a door to a place they would no longer recognize.
UKIP, an openly anti-EU party that advocates Britain’s departure from the European Union, won the European elections in Britain in May. They secured 24 seats in Strasbourg, with some 4.3 million votes. The victory came as no great surprise. People in Britain already expected them to do very well. This was not only because they feel, sometimes rightly, that Europe is ‘too big, too bossy, and too interfering’, as Cameron said, but also since concerns over immigration (and increasingly European immigration) are not addressed by the traditional political class and people tend to make up their minds based on stereotypes and exaggerated facts reported in the tabloid press. As a result, they end up seeing Europe as nothing more than a huge institution that specialises in red-tape designed to hinder businesses and pro12
Catalan International View
mote the abuse of the benefit systems in richer countries. Eastern or Southern Europeans from poorer countries are taking British jobs, they warn. And the easy solution to all these problems, they seem to think, is to leave the EU. The solution is UKIP. Undoubtedly this is neither the easiest solution nor the most appropriate. Neither is it possible to deny that Britain has a problem with the EU and its handling of immigration. The European election results were a humiliation for the traditional political parties in Westminster. For the first time, an outsider won a national election by relegating the main opposition party, Labour, and the prime minister’s party, the Conservatives, to second and third place. Not to mention the most pro-European group in the Commons, the Liberal Democrats, who ended up
Europe
losing all but one of their seats, falling behind the Greens and the Scottish National Party.
Why UKIP?
While there are many reasons why people tend to vote UKIP, political commentators have usually identified two major groups of voters: rich, white, former-conservative voters who blame the EU for all Britain’s ills, and bluecollar workers who feel marginalised in the 21st century economy and unrepresented by the Westminster elite, not to mention the Labour elite, who they see as out of touch with day-to-day working class problems. How such diverse groups of people end up voting for the same populist party says lots about the failure of the large traditional parties to grasp what’s going on in Britain. How working class
people feel attracted by the words of a populist, anti-immigration leader such as Nigel Farage, whose views on the economy have more in common with the Conservatives than any other party, is also cause for concern. Robert Ford and Matthew Goodwin carried out a first-rate analysis as to why this is the case in their book Revolt on the Right.
UKIP is a sign of the British elite’s problems with the public. A sign of the disengagement between the citizens and a political class that inhabits the Westminster bubble. Regardless of the reasons for its victory, the fact is that UKIP did succeed, and this creates a new set of circumstances both in Britain and the EU. Catalan International View
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Europe
The UKIP leader Nigel Farage stated during the election campaign that if he won, he would cause ‘such a shock in the British political system’ that it would be ‘nothing short of an earthquake’. The implications of his expected victory, as predicted, go well beyond the European election and the Westminster political bubble. In fact, they were already visible in the EU shortly after, when Prime Minister David Cameron embarked on a mission to veto Christian Democrat Jean-Claude Juncker’s candidacy for the post of President of the European Commission. He declared, not without some justification, that Juncker was a ‘man from the past’.
The long, bureaucratic and overly-technical discussions in Brussels are in sharp contrast with the British way of doing politics (and business) Cameron’s futile strategy
‘Jean-Claude Juncker has been at the heart of the project to increase the power of Brussels and reduce the power of nation-states for his entire working life. He is not the right person to take this organisation forward’. These were Cameron’s words before the European Summit that voted in favour of Juncker. Cameron failed in his bid to block him, ending up isolated with the sole, rather uncomfortable backing of Hungary. Britain was pushed one step closer to leaving the EU. In a sense, Farage won not once, but twice. ‘UKIP winning the European elections is putting huge pressure on Mr Cameron’s position’, admitted the Eurosceptic leader. ‘In terms of the United Kingdom being able to potentially renegotiate anything of significance, the appointment of Juncker makes that look far less likely’, Farage added. He had a point. Cameron has promised to 14
Catalan International View
repatriate certain powers from Brussels and hold a referendum on UK membership of the EU in 2017. Nevertheless, his critics doubt he would be able to deliver a comprehensive reform if he was not even able to block Juncker’s bid for the top job, perhaps for this very reason.
An uncomfortable relationship
Cameron said he was happy to lose a battle in order to win a war, admitting, nonetheless, that his aim is now more difficult with Juncker as head of the European Commission. Their first meeting following the nomination was decidedly awkward. Pictures of their ‘high-five’ and of an obviously distracted Juncker who did not even look at the camera were a hilarious metaphor for a strange relationship. As strange as the relationship between Juncker and Farage may well become, since they are obviously at odds with each other, they are expected to ‘enjoy the battle’ over the course of the next few years. ‘On the plus side, Mr Juncker, you are a sociable cove with a much better sense of humour than most people I’ve met in Brussels’, announced Farage during the plenary session in Strasbourg that saw Juncker winning the nomination of the European Parliament. UKIP heckled Juncker during his speech, with calls of ‘rubbish’, when he claimed that the single currency ‘protects Europe’. Their style may not have been very continental but it was actually quite British. MPs in Westminster shout all the time. The Commons is like an organized playground. And I suspect it is also one of the best political schools in Europe. Politicians heckle each other from benches on both sides of the House, and the debate is often rather invigorating. UKIP MEPs have yet to enter Westminster (and it remains to be seen if they’ll get into the Commons in May
Europe
2015) but nonetheless they too have adopted this irreverent way of doing politics: of being something in between a rude schoolboy and a sarcastic chum that seems to confound some of their European counterparts.
I listened to the leader of the European Conservatives and Reformist Group, Syed Kamall, much more elegantly urging Juncker to change things in the EU to avoid even more British disaffection. ‘Do you want Catalan International View
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your Commission to be the last of an old era, or the first of a new era?’, he asked. Labour MEPs didn’t vote for Juncker either. Nor did the only Liberal Democrat MEP in Strasbourg, Catherine Bearder, who said she wanted someone ‘with a clearer and more ambitious vision of how to reform the EU’. So basically no British support at all for Juncker, not even from the most pro-European party in Westminster.
Britain’s isolation
Britain is out of touch with the European Union. It always has been to some extent, but now the disenchantment is being reciprocated. In the old good days, when Margaret Thatcher or Tony Blair went to Brussels and threatened them with a veto, the other member states tried to accommodate their demands. Cameron has outright failed in trying to apply the same old logic to a new EU structure. And it seems 16
Catalan International View
as if Berlin and Paris no longer care if London ends up alone. There would be ‘no drama’ if Juncker was chosen with a majority and no support from Cameron, admitted Chancellor Angela Merkel. Maybe it was not dramatic for Berlin, but it was for London. Cameron has since reshuffled his cabinet, with the big appointments announced the same day as Juncker was being confirmed for the top job in the European Commission. Of particular note was the departure of Ken Clarke, Minister without Portfolio, former Conservative chancellor and probably one of the few pro-Europeans to speak out in favour of Juncker, saying that ‘the idea he is an arch-federalist, a sort of public enemy number one, is slightly exaggerated’. Equally noteworthy was the appointment, as Foreign Secretary, of the Eurosceptic Philip Hammond, who once declared to the BBC that he would vote to leave the EU unless Britain can repatriate substantial powers.
Europe
These changes might suggest a shift in European policy in the wake of the 2015 general election. Cameron might want to reconnect with those voters that think he is not harsh enough with Brussels and who are considering voting UKIP next May. A domestic move, but one with European consequences. UKIP is a sign of the British elite’s problems with the public. A sign of the disengagement between the citizens and a political class that inhabits the Westminster bubble, from where it is difficult to properly address the legitimate demands and doubts of the people with regard to the economy, the EU and immigration. And from where it is difficult to challenge the parties’ stereotypes and populist discourse. British politicians, including the Prime Minister and his Secretaries of State, had
better start talking to people, not just addressing them from a podium, if they don’t want to lose them for good. UKIP is also a sign of the European elite’s problems with its people and with Britain. The EU-bubble is making the British feel more and more alienated from a European Union that they feel no longer represents them and which no longer wishes to listen to their demands. The long, bureaucratic and overly-technical discussions in Brussels are in sharp contrast with the British way of doing politics (and business). And unless London and Brussels show a willingness to embark on a real reform agenda, the English Channel will widen by the day. And I will no longer have the chance to say to my friends that ‘no, they are not coming from Europe: they are Europe too’.
*Laura Pous is a journalist. She is the London correspondent for the ACN (the Catalan news agency) and RAC1 radio station. She also presents the weekly magazine ‘Europa Semanal’ broadcast by Deutsche Welle. Pou holds a Masters in Political Communication from the University of Glasgow.
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Catalan International View
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Business, Law & Economics
Credit, bubbles and economic models by Jaume Ventura*
Banks and other financial intermediaries play an increasingly important role in modern capitalist economies. In industrial countries, for instance, credit has risen from 100% of GDP in 1970 to approximately 160% of GDP today. This growth would undoubtedly have been much higher without the financial crisis of 2007-08.
Nevertheless, this significant average growth masks substantial variations in the experiences of individual countries. In the United States credit grew by approximately 40% of GDP between 1990 and 2010, only to contract sharply afterwards. In Greece, Ireland, Spain and Portugal, the dynamics of credit show a similar profile over recent decades: stagnant or declining credit between the mid-1980s and the mid-1990s, a spectacular surge in credit between the mid-1990s and 2010, and stagnation or a sharp decline ever since. Looking to the future, these drops in credit are not necessarily short-lived, as shown by the Japanese and Swedish experience. In Japan, for instance, credit grew rapidly in the late 1990s and has fallen stead18
Catalan International View
ily since its 1999 peak. In Sweden, credit collapsed during the financial crisis of the early 1990s and took over a decade to return to its earlier peak. There is one outstanding feature, however, which is common to the diverse experiences of different countries: credit has often alternated between periods of rapid growth (booms) and periods of stagnation or significant decline (busts). The credit booms and busts tend to be accompanied by changes in key economic variables. It has been well documented that credit booms are associated with high asset prices and high growth rates of real GDP, consumption and investment. According to some estimates investment growth doubles during booms. Nonetheless, credit
Business, Law & Economics
booms eventually end, and their aftereffects are often characterized by financial crises and low economic growth. This has prompted calls for policies that restrain credit during booms, in the hope that smaller booms will lead to smaller crises. Nonetheless, is such a view justified? To evaluate the merits of these calls for policy changes, one must have a perspective as to the forces driving these credit cycles. Not surprisingly, a great deal of macroeconomic research has been devoted to this matter in recent years. Obviously, credit may fluctuate for a variety of reasons, and different types of fluctuations may call for different policy responses. At a very general level, fluctuations in credit may reflect
changes in the supply or the demand for funds. The supply of funds typically grows when income grows due to favourable changes in the terms of trade, increases in production and successful policy reforms. The supply of funds may also grow for reasons that are less positive, such as an increase in uncertainty that raises precautionary savings, or widespread doubts as to the future of the public pension system. The same is true when it comes to the demand for funds. It might grow for positive reasons, such an increase in business prospects, or for negative reasons, such an increase in government debt. Traditional models of credit incorporate some or all of these factors and try to study how they affect credit. Catalan International View
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Business, Law & Economics
Recently, though, macroeconomists have focused on models of credit fluctuations that are driven by fluctuations in available collateral. Indeed, the concept of collateral has now become a central element of modern macroeconomics. The intuition behind this concept is simple: the role of ďŹ nancial markets is to intermediate funds between those that have them (that is, the savers or creditors) and those who know what to do with them (that is, the entrepreneurs or borrowers). This intermediation is useful because it makes the economy more efficient. In order for this intermediation to be feasible, however, savers need guarantees from entrepreneurs that the funds they lend them (together with a sufficiently attractive return!) will be repaid once the investments pay off. The collateral of entrepreneurs, that is the amount of future funds that they can pledge today to creditors, is akin to those guarantees. When collateral is low, entrepreneurs cannot borrow enough and the economy operates efficiently. When collateral is high, entrepreneurs can borrow enough and the economy operates inefficiently. In a world with an ample supply of funds, the level of credit is determined by the amount of collateral. In such a situation, understanding credit booms and busts requires a theory of collateral fluctuations. This simple idea is at the heart of the new generation of models that academics developed following the start of the crisis. These models are nowadays used by central banks, government agencies and international organizations around the world. The underlying view is that the supply of funds is abundant due to globalization and other factors that have raised the world supply of funds. In such an environment, credit is deter20
Catalan International View
mined by the ability of entrepreneurs to absorb these funds. That is, credit is determined by available collateral. The view that we live in a new world with an abundant supply of funds is consistent with the observation that interest rates are now lower than ever before. The first generation of post-crisis models, with their emphasis on the role of collateral, constitute a substantial improvement over the traditional models that were used before the crisis. Nevertheless, they still face an important challenge when they attempt to confront the evidence. To see this, we ought to state that these models have two underlying assumptions. The first is that fluctuations in collateral are driven by movements in asset prices.
Business, Law & Economics
That is, they postulate that the collateral of firms is proportional to their value, and the collateral of households is proportional to their wealth. This, I think, the models get largely right. A second assumption of these firstgeneration models is that movements in asset prices are driven by changes in their ‘fundamental’ values. That is, these models are based on the old view that firm and real estate prices equal the net present value of the profits or rents that they generate, which is what is meant by their ‘fundamental’ value. This assumption is not surprising since there is a longstanding tradition in economic departments and business schools of teaching students that, sooner or later, market forces ensure that asset prices eventually converge to their fundamental value. However, such an assumption is a shaky foundation on which to build models for policy analysis. Nobody denies that changes in fundamental values affect asset prices. But both theoretical work and empirical evidence show that modern capitalist economies also experience large and persistent movements in asset prices that are not driven by fundamental values. For this reason some academics are currently developing a second-generation of post-crisis models that show how movements in asset prices are driven by both fundamental and bubble components. Unlike the fundamental component, which reflects the value of the pay-
offs that an asset is expected to generate, the bubble component reflects what the market believes that the market will pay for the asset tomorrow and it is mainly driven by self-fulfilling expectations. This new class of models shows that part of the price of any asset is merely a pyramid scheme. One may recall that, in such a scheme, participants make voluntary contributions in the expectation of obtaining future voluntary contributions by other participants.
Some academics are currently developing a second-generation of post-crisis models that show how movements in asset prices are driven by both fundamental and bubble components At first sight, the notion that asset prices are driven by bubbles or pyramid schemes might seem rather abstract or exotic. Nevertheless, it is easy to find real-world situations that correspond fairly well to this concept. Consider, for instance, the stock of a firm that is traded at a price that exceeds its fundamental, i.e. the net present value of the dividends that the stock will generate. This ‘overvalued’ price might be paid by investors that rationally expect to sell these stocks in the future at a price that also exceeds the fundamental. Consider, alternatively, credit given to a firm Catalan International View
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Business, Law & Economics
in excess of the net present value of the cash flows that this firm will generate. This ‘excessive’ credit might be given by banks that rationally expect that the firm will be able to raise enough credit in the future to repay them.
A lot of work still needs to be done to determine how these policies transition from theoretical models to real world policymaking Overvalued stock prices and excessive credit can therefore be interpreted as bubbles or pyramid schemes, that is, as voluntary contributions to the firm’s financing that give the right to the next voluntary contribution. Once we think in these terms, the concept of a bubble ceases to be abstract or exotic and it becomes quite mundane. Indeed, it seems to capture the type of real-world behaviour that we see every day. Aside from being consistent with the observation of non-fundamental movements in asset prices, these second-generation models have already generated a number of interesting results. The first is that there is an optimal bubble size that provides the right amount of collateral needed by the credit market in order to channel funds
from savers to entrepreneurs. If the bubble is too small, as currently appears to be the case, this intermediation process is impaired and funds do not reach their target. If the bubble is too large, as might have been the case in the not so distant past, the intermediation process is overheated and interest rates are too high. The optimal bubble trades off these two effects. A second result is that markets are typically unable to generate the optimal bubble. The reason is that marketgenerated bubbles depend on investor sentiment. That is, on the expectations of many decentralized market participants. It is highly unlikely that these market participants will coordinate their expectations in such a way that the optimal bubble arises. This coordination failure provides a new challenge to policymakers. The third result is the existence of ‘smart’ policies that can help insulate the economy from the whims of investor sentiment. These policies work in the models, but as yet they have not been tested in the real world. A lot of work still needs to be done to determine how these policies transition from theoretical models to real world policymaking. This will undoubtedly be a complex task. But this is precisely why it is so exciting to be doing macroeconomic research at this time.
Jaume Ventura gained his PhD in Economics at Harvard University in 1995. Currently he is a Senior Researcher at the Center for Research in International Economics (CREI), a Research Professor at the Barcelona Graduate School of Economics and a Professor at Universitat Pompeu Fabra (UPF). Previously, he has held academic positions at MIT and the University of Chicago. He has served as a co-director of the International Macroeconomics Programme of the CEPR and also as an editor of the Economic Journal. He is a Research Fellow of the CEPR, a Research Associate of the NBER, and a Fellow of the European Economic Association. He has served as a consultant to the IMF, the World Bank and the Inter-American Development Bank. His research interests include international economics and macroeconomics. Recently, he has also written and commented on Catalan economic issues as member of the Col·lectiu Wilson.
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The Americas - Africa
US foreign policy towards Africa: time for change? by Laia Tarragona*
At the end of June 2013, US President Barack Obama visited Africa on a 6-day tour for the first time since he took office in 2008. Expectations were high when he was elected president due to his being the first AfroAmerican president to occupy the post and for his Kenyan roots. Nevertheless, Obama kept Africa waiting for over four years before paying it a serious visit.
Obama’s first mandate was characterised by his lack of interest in the African continent. However, in a context of an ‘emerging Africa’ and China’s increasing presence on the continent, his visit to the region may have signalled a shift in America’s approach to its foreign policy. From once being seen as the world’s poorest and all too often most violent continent, it is now seen as an emerging continent. Despite being home to some of the poorest countries in the world and the victim of deepseated conflicts, Africa also has six of the ten fastest growing economies in the world, and a rapidly expanding consumer class. 24
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A historical overview
America’s engagement with Africa is fairly recent. Although the Bureau of African Affairs was created in 1958 under President Eisenhower, US foreign policy towards Africa was dictated by Cold War politics until the time of the Clinton administration in the nineties. Africa was one of the many theatres in which the US and the Soviet Union acted out the Cold War. Other than that, the US followed the unfolding events in South Africa with great interest, at the time under the apartheid regime. Worth mentioning are Senator Robert Kennedy’s 1966 visit at the invitation by the anti-apartheid National
The Americas - Africa
Union of South African Students and the enactment of the Comprehensive Anti-Apartheid Act in 1986. The first official visit by a US president to Sub-Saharan Africa was that of Jimmy Carter in 1978. It was not until twenty years later, in 1998, that US president Bill Clinton made the continent’s second presidential visit. For the first time, the US administration regarded Africa as Africa itself rather than as a theatre for its proxy wars. Clinton’s most important legacy was the enactment of the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) in the year 2000. This act, signed into law at the initiative of president George W.
Bush in 2004, is still in force today and is set to expire in 2015, when it is expected that Congress will renew it once more (if not before). AGOA is one of the pillars of trade between Africa and the US. It provides incentives (through duty-free access to the US market) for certain African countries to export to the US. Countries eligible to benefit from it are those that comply with a set of conditions related to the rule of law, human rights and labour standards. Approximately 40 Sub-Saharan African countries currently benefit from it. However, Africa finally appeared on the radar screen of US foreign policy during George W. Bush’s time in ofCatalan International View
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The Americas - Africa
fice. During the Bush years, US interest in Africa increased, and Africa achieved strategic importance for the US mostly in terms of security, energy dependence and competition with China, which was beginning to invest in the continent. Bush left a lasting legacy in Africa on three main fronts: security, with the establishment of the US Africa Command (AFRICOM); aid and assistance, through the implementation of important health programs such as the unprecedented President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR, a $15 billion initiative) and the President’s Malaria Initiative, as well as the establishment of the Millennium Challenge Corporation, a US government aid agency; and diplomacy, with the push for a peace settlement to end the civil war in Sudan.
Competition with China is one of the elements that drives this alleged change or increase of interest Is Obama interested in Africa?
Obama’s first term certainly failed to live up to the expectations his election created in Africa. It cannot be said that he totally forgot about the continent. Obama visited Kenya, Djibouti, Chad and South Africa back in 2006 when he was a senator, and made a one-day stopover in Ghana in 2009 right after winning the elections, where he delivered a speech laden with symbolism. Hillary Clinton, as secretary of state, did make Africa a priority as her 23 visits to the continent show. The Feed the Future initiative was also launched by the Obama administration. Furthermore, he has maintained and continued the initiatives and programs begun by his predecessors, at a time of economic meltdown and budgetary constraints. Also, there have been important dip26
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lomatic successes in Côte d’Ivoire, Guinea and the referendum in Sudan, although the US cannot take sole credit for these as they were achieved in collaboration with regional organizations and African governments. In spite of such gains, Obama has so far failed to deliver any innovative ideas or ones that imply a serious commitment of economic resources. He has failed to launch any initiatives that demonstrate a genuine interest in the continent as his predecessors did. There were protracted delays in appointing key posts responsible for Africa within his administration. Moreover, the administration only released the ‘US Strategy Toward Sub-Saharan Africa’ in June 2012, presenting it as a new strategy for the continent. However, the document failed to contain any relevant changes nor did it include a new approach. The US certainly has increasing, strategic interests in the continent. In addition to the traditional fields of aid and development, competition with China together with security matters and economic interests are currently playing an important role. Competition with China is one of the elements that drives this alleged change or increase of interest. In January 2013, Secretary of State John Kerry stated at his confirmation hearing: ‘China is all over Africa. (…) And there’re some places where we’re not in the game’. In a similar vein, Ben Rhodes, Deputy National Security Advisor stated, when referring to Africa, that ‘we are going to fall behind in a very important region in the world’. In 2009, China overtook the US and became Africa’s largest trading partner, and in 2011 China more than doubled US trade with the region: it reached $200 billion while America’s amounted to just $95 billion. China’s interests in the continent are mostly in the extractive industries. Thus far, so too are American interests.
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Security is an area in which the US has shown continued interest. AFRICOM, established in 2007, shows that the US is willing to play a role in the continent as far as security matters are concerned. In the Sahel, security threats posed by extremist groups have increased of late, while drugs and arms trafficking routes across the region are also a cause for concern. Moreover, conflicts within some states pose additional security challenges. In terms of trade and economic interests, US companies in Africa are currently mostly limited to extractive energy industries. However, with Africa becoming a potential market for consumers, the need for a re-engage-
ment with the continent has become more apparent than ever. First and foremost it represents a commercial opportunity that would benefit US companies. Obama’s visit hopefully signalled a change in US foreign policy towards the continent. First of all, it showed that Africa matters to the US. It is no small thing for a US president to visit a region for 6 days. His main announcements made during the visit were related to trade, youth and leadership. The fact that around 500 businessmen joined Obama on his trip showed that the administration wants to focus on trade as part of its strategy towards the continent. In this area, the main initiative announced Catalan International View
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by the US President is Power Africa, a program for power generation and distribution to overcome one of the main obstacles for investment and trade in Africa: the lack of access to electrical power. The administration, together with US power companies, will invest in the initiative. The announcement was not immune from criticism: ultimately, most of the investment will go to assisting American companies and help them 28
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be more competitive. Regarding Africa’s youth, Obama announced the expansion of the Young African Leaders Initiative, an on-going program begun in 2010, which will provide opportunities for 500 young people from Africa to receive leadership training in the US. Finally, he announced a US – Africa Summit of Leaders to be held in August 2014 in Washington DC. Such a meeting would show that America’s commitment to
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Africa is serious and that dialogue is an important aspect of the relationship. Although these three initiatives are not as important as the Obama administration has tried to portray them, their relevance is not trivial. It is undoubtedly a beginning and symbolically sends a message to Africa. Overall, it sets the stage, making a change of policy direction possible.
Time for change
America’s foreign policy with respect to Africa has never been comprehensive and varies highly from region to region and even from country to country. Its foreign policy regarding North Africa follows its own logic. In particular, Egypt, a country that can be seen as the only place where the US has a consistent and fully strategic policy and also the country that has received the lion’s share of US aid. On the other hand, security interests are the top priority in the Sahel. Competition with China together with energy and resource extraction interests are also at the core of America’s policy in Sub-Saharan Africa. Finally, South Africa is regarded as an ally (although there has been some friction) and a stabilising power. It is difficult to have a consistent policy in a continent where there is so much variety at all levels. The 54 African countries range from democracies to dictatorial regimes, from growing countries to the poorest in the world, from peaceful countries to those ravaged by conflict, from countries with improving governance to others with a total lack of it. To date, Africa has failed to be a priority for the US and neither can it
be described as strategic. On the contrary, it has been based on humanitarian aid and assistance, a donor-recipient relationship. Despite Obama’s lack of interest during his first term, this could hopefully begin to change. If he holds true to the commitments announced during his trip (i.e. Power Africa, developing leadership and the US – Africa summit of leaders in 2014) his administration will be building on an important legacy with regards to Africa. During his visit, the US President emphasised the role of the private sector. Economically, Africa is becoming a potential market. The fact that China is now an important player in the region and the presence of other countries like Turkey and Brazil makes this all the more evident. Maybe in the years to come, with more investment coming from the private sector, the US will take a more positive approach, in the sense that it will come to realise that engaging with Africa will not only benefit the latter but also the former. Africa needs to be seen as an opportunity rather than a burden. On top of that, security is and will remain high on America’s agenda, and China’s growing presence in the continent (not only economically but also in terms of political alliances) should also contribute to making the US aware of the importance of re-engaging with Africa. The US administration needs to realise that the country has crucial interests in the region and that these will potentially increase in the future. It is time for the US foreign policy to reflect such interests and become more strategic. It is time for change.
REFERENCES Banks, J.P. et al “Top Five Reasons Why Africa Should Be a Priority for the United States”. Africa Growth Initiative, Brookings.March 2013. Campbell, J. “Obama’s Overdue Trip to Africa”. Centre for Foreign Relations. June 2013. Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) “Press Briefing: President’s Obama Upcoming Trip to Africa”. June 2013. Cooke, J. and Downie, R. “African Conflicts and US Diplomacy”. CSIS and The American Academy of Diplomacy. January 2010. Frazer, J. “Reflections of US Policy in Africa, 20012009”, The Fletcher Forum of World Affairs, Vol 34:I, Winter 2010. Kimenyi, M.S. “Obama’s Africa Trip: Symbolism and Substance”, Opinion, Brookings. July 2013. Kimenyi, M.S. “Favorite or Prodigal Son? US – Africa Policy under Obama”. Brookings. July 2011. Ploch, L. “Africa Command: US Strategic Interests and the Role of the US Military in Africa”, Congressional Research Service. July 2011. Vines, A. “Obama’s Africa Trip: Forging Better Partnerships”. Chatham House. June 2013.
*Laia Tarragona holds a degree in Law from the Universitat Pompeu Fabra, a Masters in International Business Law from the London Metropolitan University and a Masters in International Relations from the Institut Barcelona d’Estudis Internacionals (IBEI). As a lawyer, she practiced with international law firms in both London and Barcelona. She currently works as a project manager and researcher at the Barcelona Centre for International Affairs (CIDOB). Her interests include US foreign policy and the transatlantic relationship between the United States and Europe.
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A Snapshot
On September 11th2014 hundreds of thousands of Catalans t ook to the streets of Barcelona , dressedin red and yellow shirts. They form ed a giant ‘V‘to call for a vote on independence. Arranged in lines of red and yellow,forming the stripes of the Catalan fl ag, the multitude of flagwaving demonstrators of all ages gathered in the sunshine to mark Catalonia’s National Day, the Diada. The commemoration, which marks the Spanish conquest of Catalonia in 1714, was particuarly sensitive this year, coming as it did amid calls for a November 9thvote on Catalan independence. An official from Barcelona’s city hall told reporters the estimated turnout for the demonstrationstoodat 2.2 million.
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A ‘V’ in Barcelona: 2.2 million people claiming for democracy
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Interview
Desmond Tutu ‘Catalonia has the right to hold a referendum to decide on its future’ Interviewed by Francesc de Dalmases Photos by Quim Milla
South African Archbishop Desmond Tutu visited Barcelona to receive the 2014 Catalonia International Prize. In spite of the fatigue caused by a morning full of meetings with the press we found him cheerful, happy, full of energy, passionate and patient. He showed himself to be truly honoured to receive an award that last year was won by the Pakistani activist Malala Yousafzai and, in previous years, has gone to the Japanese writer Haruki Murakami and former US president Jimmy Carter. Tutu is an expert in emotional intelligence who understands the perfect combination of friendliness, kindness and determination. When speaking to him one understands why Nelson Mandela sought his company during his first night of freedom following 27 years in prison. Do you realise that your support for the self-determination process that is taking place in Catalonia has been a surprise? Internationally we have observed support in private but typically people have been cautious to express this in public. For some time now I’ve stopped distinguishing between what I think, what I say in private and what I express in public. In the case of Catalonia it seems clear to me that if people are forced to accept the current political situation it could lead to an unstable and volatile situation. I defend the right to self-determination as it appears to be just. I hope that Spain and Catalonia are sufficiently mature and adult to sit down and talk about it.
I find it illogical and I am against being obliged to forming part of a state by force. If one ignores people’s strong feelings about their language and culture you are contributing to instability. And the opposite of ignoring a situation is dialogue. Dialogue is reason against force. A force which ought not to be used by either side. Force will never keep a people in an unwanted relationship in the modern world. As it says in the Bible, God is always on the side of the oppressed, the weak, and the despised. I have always encouraged those who are in a situation of oppression to peacefully continue struggling for their rights.
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Interview
It seems as if there’s nothing more peaceful than democracy to defend the rights of a people. I think that a reasonable process would promote dialogue between the Catalan and Spanish governments regarding a process that would result in a referendum. Reasonable individuals would discuss the level of support for independence. Genuine dialogue should be between adults and not between badly-behaved adolescents. They could do the same as in Scotland.
Dialogue is reason against force. Force will never keep a people in an unwanted relationship in the modern world. Those who oppose the process say that the referendum is impossible because it is illegal. Catalonia has the right to hold a referendum to decide on its future. Spain’s refusal could cause the situ34
ation to worsen. Denying these feelings won’t make them disappear, but rather it will strengthen them, since this is not a temporary feeling, due to the economic crisis, but goes back centuries. It’s not new. Surely it makes more sense to outline the future together than allow relations to deteriorate and run the risk that Catalonia declares independence unilaterally. If we examine your career, it is clear that you have always called for dialogue and understanding to overcome inequalities and misunderstandings. We need to be aware of the high cost of poverty and inequality, which are the reason why we suffer from so much violence. Poverty is very expensive. In my country, South Africa, we have a long way to go but we have left oppression and injustice behind and are walking towards democracy and freedom. Nevertheless, there are still many economic differences and, therefore, there is still a separation between the rich and the poor, which all too often overlaps with blacks and whites.
Catalan International View
Interview
Since you mention South Africa, the nation you dubbed the ‘rainbow nation’... It’s what we are! Is it still the case? Are you still sure that you are walking with confidence and assurance towards the peace and freedom which you mentioned a moment ago? South Africa is and should remain a ‘rainbow nation’ in the broadest, most positive sense of the term. Diversity is one of the greatest riches of a country and that is why South Africa must continue to work to show the world that it is possible that very different people can know and understand each other in spite of their differences. Many of the things which have happened should never be repeated. Until quite recently there was a law that prohibited sexual relations between a white person and someone of another colour. This stupid law meant that the police spent a lot of time, money and effort enforcing it... unsuccessfully, of course! Fortunately there are more and more people who are committed to living together in harmony. South Africa is an example of what Nelson Mandela once said: enemies can become friends. When speaking in public you have never stopped talking of love and determination as driving forces for human progress. What I say, in fact, is obvious: it is better to work ‘with’ someone than ‘against’ someone. It’s smarter to work in a coalition than its alternative. If we did so we would save so much... including money! Consider for a moment the vast amount of money we spend on defence when everyone knows that with just a small fraction of the cost, anyone in the world would have access to the food needed to live, to clean water to drink, a good education... Instead, it promotes inequality rather than helping others. Nothing can go well while these inequalities exist. The so-called ‘super-powers’ should know by now that it’s much better to have friends than enemies. I can’t understand that it’s so difficult for so many politicians to realise this. You are an undisputed symbol of peace. You have always been against violence. Nevertheless, you have also been very important in the practice of civil disobedience... Yes, there are struggles in which civil disobedience is essential.
But often this kind of civil disobedience is considered evil by those in power because it breaks the imposition of laws which are unjust. Of course, but when there is a problem and you turn your back you are making it worse. In your case, the Catalans have for some time been asking for recognition and respect for their own identity. When a people realises it is different it wishes to live in normality with its difference. And if a people sees this fundamental right is being denied to them at the same time as they are being told who they are or what they should be... it’s only natural that there’s a reaction! What is not a smart strategy is to ignore the will of the people and put it to one side. When the majority feel they are being ignored they come out and make demands. Identity is always the result of a collective history, it’s not a whim. The Catalans are not against anyone, they’re simply asking for their own space. I’d like to finish by talking about the sense of transcendence. Postmodern thinking, as well as modern thinking, is uncomfortable with the idea of the divine, of religions and their institutionalization. But the essential human values inherent in these feelings have also been diluted. I find it interesting how you’ve managed to retain this mystical, religious dimension, with a constant, tangible and committed struggle throughout your life. I speak for myself when I say that I could not have survived without believing in God. In a God who inspires, a God who is on the side of the weak... I would never have survived the many pressures that myself and many others were under. When you receive death-threats, when they arrest your child then let them go, handcuff your wife for going down the street... I’m not saying that it’s the same as 27 years in prison... but what I mean is that all of us have suffered and fought for what we believe. I have always believed in the power of the people because, after all, there is nothing that can stop an entire nation. When a nation is determined to achieve something nothing can be done. Maybe it can be postponed, but it will only grow stronger. It will end up obtaining what it wanted. So it’s better to admit it than to waste a lot of time and resources trying to stop the inevitable. Thank you very much. God bless you.
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Opinion
Catalonia, Southern Europe’s economic engine by Felip Puig*
Overcoming the current economic crisis called for changes in the model of economic growth that was characteristic of the preceding stage. We were faced with a double challenge: the global economic crisis and its consequences on the one hand and changes in the model of production on the other. It appears that to some extent we are succeeding. In spite of budgetary constraints we have been able to maintain the basic elements of the welfare state. Catalonia has a decent healthcare system, we are improving education outcomes and we have the capacity to support the most vulnerable members of society who have been most affected by the economic crisis. The recovery which industry is experiencing and the excellent condition of the Catalan tourism sector are two of the driving forces behind economic growth in Catalonia. Together with activity in the logistics sector, they combine to make Catalonia a leader and economic engine of Southern Europe. Industry has dominated Catalan economic and social life since the Industrial Revolution. The culture of hard work, entrepreneurship, social responsibility and the creation of a welfare state are all founded on industrial activity. A recovery in industry means a recovery of the country’s best values. In the context of a globalized economy, a commitment to industry is 36
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necessary in order that it is innovative. Industrial competitiveness ought to be founded on such an ability. Catalonia has been laying the foundations of a good system of research and development since the beginning of the twenty-first century. We have been able to attract talent, retain it and create more: ICREA, the research centres linked to biotechnology, the Barcelona supercomputer and the Alba Synchrotron are all examples of this. The challenge we face is to transform this knowledge into innovation. We are working to encourage advanced technology centres to join together, as part of the TECNIO network, with the aim of achieving larger centres that allow us to compete at the international level and to be able to work with other firstclass international centres. Meanwhile we would like our technology centres to serve as the innovation departments for our businesses, particularly the SMEs, which need to actively participate in the process of innovation.
Opinion
Catalonia has a great variety of industrial leaders in many sectors. This diversity is one of the strengths of our economy. In Catalonia, industry accounts for slightly more than 20% of GDP, the figure recommended by the EU as of 2020, with no industry contributing more than 15% of the total for the sector. Our new industrial strategy identifies seven strategic areas in which our companies have the chance to be world leaders. These seven areas cover the country’s major industrial sectors; the food industry; chemical industry; energy and resources; industrial systems; industrial design; the sustainable mobility industry; the health and life sciences industry; and cultural industries. These seven strategic areas and their respective priorities are the result of hard work by the administration, representatives of the companies themselves and their related institutions. It is a process that will allow us to conceptualize a new way of understanding industrial policy which is characterized by public support and private leadership. The new industrial policy prioritises sectoral policies which have been identified in each strategic area, subordinating their objectives to the classical instrumental policies of internationalization, innovation and cluster policy, industrial reactivation, business growth and the generation of entrepreneurship. Together with industry and its future role, tourism has grown in terms of its strategic importance. The tourism sector represents almost 12% of GDP and accounts for 13% of employment in Catalonia, a sector that has made inter-
nationalization one of its main competitive factors. Of the more than 20 million visitors to Catalonia each year, 15.5 million come from outside of Spain. Catalonia has become a leading tourist destination in Southern Europe, the result of a dynamic business sector with an international outlook which is able to highlight our country’s assets in terms of tourism. Catalonia is a geographically diverse country. To the charm of our coastline, should be added the diversity and quality of our countryside, Barcelona’s position as one of the world’s leading capitals of tourism and the importance of Catalonia’s historical, cultural and gastronomical heritage. Together these assets mean that ever-increasing numbers of tourists have unique experiences during their stay, not forgetting the fact that we are a welcoming and hospitable nation in which foreigners can feel at home. This has helped to build a cosmopolitan, open and inclusive society, which is able to attract talent and promote creativity. Catalan International View
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Opinion
In the future, the tourism industry needs to increase the creation of addedvalue; its commitment should be to greater quality with less seasonality. These goals are shared by both the government and the tourism companies themselves. The transformation we are carrying out functions in conjunction with work aimed at improving touristic provision (The Tourism Plan) and communication and promotion (The Tourism Marketing Plan). Both instruments will allow us to ensure that tourism plays a strategic role in the future and that the value generated by the sector increases, thereby preserving and improving our tourism assets.
An innovative, competitive and diversified industrial base together with a dynamic, internationalized tourism sector are two key drivers for future growth An innovative, competitive and diversified industrial base together with a dynamic, internationalized tourism sector are two key drivers for future growth to which must be added a third, logistics, in order to ensure a sustainable growth model, which is increasingly a factor in the relative competitiveness of economies. Catalonia’s geographical location in the Mediterranean, the existence of a healthy logistics infrastructure thanks to our ports, airports, and road and rail networks, all mean that Catalonia is currently an extraordinary platform for logistical activities.
We are an excellent gateway for goods travelling to the very heart of Europe and from Europe to the major parts of the world especially Asia, North Africa and Latin America. The planned construction of the Mediterranean railway link, declared a priority project by the EU, will strengthen Catalonia’s role as a major logistics platform and will enable us to compete with the major ports of Central and Northern Europe and their areas of economic influence. Logistical activity is part of the production value chain. Possessing a healthy logistics industry in the future will provide us with a competitive edge that in turn will allow us to strengthen our economic fabric and attract new investment to Catalonia. The positive growth of foreign investment in Catalonia, especially in the industrial sector, is a good example of how those outside of Catalonia value our assets with which we will meet the challenges of globalization. Catalonia currently has a diversified economy, with a solid industrial base, a healthy research system and a skilled workforce, together with an exceptional geographic location. We can look to the future with optimism and a belief that this way of transforming our growth model and overcoming the current difficulties will ultimately meet with success. The path is not an easy one. It requires effort and sacrifice as Catalan society has already shown. Nevertheless, I am convinced that in the end the outcome in terms of social equity and opportunities for improvement will be positive for the entire country and for its people.
*Felip Puig (Barcelona, 1958) is Minister for Enterprise and Employment for the Generalitat of Catalonia. A civil engineer by profession, he holds a degree in Business Administration. He has been a member of Convergència Democràtica de Catalunya since 1976 and began his political career as head of the Parets del Vallès council and a councillor for Vallès Oriental District Council. He has held various ministerial portfolios in the Catalan government: Minister for Environment (1999 to 2001), Minister for Planning and Public Works (2001 to 2003) and Minister of Interior (2010 to 2013). He has been responsible for the Generalitat’s policies on employment and economic productivity since December 2013.
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Opinion
Is it a bird, is it a plane? No, it’s Putin The West asks how far the Russian president will go. The answer is: as far as possible.
Is it a tortoise, is it an ostrich? No, it’s Washington and NATO by Nico Valle*
The war in Ukraine has shown that Russia still has the ability to cripple the West’s backbone. One may laugh at the absurd images of Russian propaganda, bent on presenting Putin as Superman, as a taekwondo champion, a buffalo hunter, a selfless servant of the Fatherland, in which he strides across the screen like a sheriff in a cowboy movie (see for yourself ). Putin’s image may well be akin to a pantomime, but in recent months he has shown more than bluster; he has shown courage, determination and originality together with cynicism and arrogance. Nonetheless, it is easy to carry on in this way when your opponent is scared. And the West is afraid, afraid of an ongoing conflict, afraid of another recession, afraid to show its weaknesses. As a result, Washington and Brussels fall over themselves in trying to avoid talk of ‘war’ or ‘invasion’, as it would force them to act. The truth is, and it is worth pointing it out, that a war has been raging in Europe for several months. That’s right, 40
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just like the Middle East or Central Africa, we have a war on our soil, we have besieged cities, without water or electricity, we have aerial bombardments, burning tanks in ditches, the deaths of innocent men and women (more than 2,000), to which must be added the passengers and crew of Malaysian Airlines flight MH17, victims of an airspace that remained open precisely because of this refusal to acknowledge what is ocurring.
Opinion
The truth is, and it needs repeating, that Russia has invaded Ukraine. It did so first in Crimea with those mysterious soldiers who weren’t wearing any insignia or carrying any flags... And it did so once again in the regions of Donetsk, Lugansk and Mariupol. There are Russian soldiers and weapons on the ground. It is not a mere hypothesis and neither is it breaking news. Everyone knows. NATO has presented its evidence, and it is backed up by the accounts of the fami-
lies of Russian soldiers who have died in combat. Nevertheless, European governments prefer to pretend they know nothing, or that the situation is not so serious. They speak of more sanctions, they click on the #SupportToUkraine hashtag and that’s the end of the matter. The Kremlin is so acutely aware of European and American paralysis that Putin can afford to add touches of irony and cynicism to his speeches in reference to Ukraine. A few examples: Catalan International View
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Opinion
Putin, when referring to the Russian troops occupying and annexing the peninsula, ‘The quality of the weapons and the training of the Crimean selfdefence militias is amazing.’ The Chief of the Russian General Staff when referring to ten paratroopers captured by the Ukrainian army, ‘It’s not an invasion, our soldiers crossed the border by mistake.’ The separatist leader Alexander Zakharchenko, ‘Of course there are Russian soldiers fighting on our side. But they’re here on vacation, some go to the beach and others prefer to come here to fight.’
Putin has made it clear that for the present he prefers losing money to losing any geostrategic advantage. Europe and the United States are faced with the same dilemma, but instead they prefer to lose their geostrategic advantage than to lose money Moscow could just as well claim that the soldiers who are occupying the Crimea and eastern Ukraine are Jedi warriors from Alpha Centauri... and still nothing would happen. Putin seems to be genuinely enjoying the situation. He is openly interfering in the affairs of another country, but he knows he can’t be accused of violating its sovereignty or breaking international laws. Europe and the United States have imposed sanctions of course. There is no denying the negative impact they are having on the Russian economy, currently immersed in a recession which has not been officially recognized. Nonetheless, Putin has made it clear that for the present he prefers losing money to losing any geostrategic advantage. Europe and the United States are faced with the same dilemma, but 42
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instead they prefer to lose their geostrategic advantage than to lose money. This is why we have reached this stalemate. There is no plan B. The EU and the US decided to behave like ostriches by burying their heads in the sand in the hope that the problem will resolve itself. Europe and the United States can no longer go back in time and correct their mistakes. They went too far during last winter’s protests in central Kiev, by asking the government and its people to make an unfair choice: the European Union or nothing. It was a mistake. Like it or not, Ukraine is a country with two souls, one which is more Central European and another which is more Eastern. Alarm bells should have sounded when the youthful protests degenerated into the overthrow of Viktor Yanukovych, a democratically elected president, when the peaceful uprising was hijacked by the paramilitary far-right in a display of almost obscene violence. It is natural that the Russian-speaking minority joined forces against the new authorities in Kiev. Now, however, pretending as if nothing has happened is a difficult pill to swallow. Sanctions need expanding. Washington can afford it, but not recession-riddled France or a stagnant Germany that is already seeing the effect of the blockade on its economy (we’re even feeling it in Catalonia). Naturally enough, Moscow will use gas prices as a form of retaliation this winter. The most radical option is to support military conflict in Ukraine and participate in a proxy war. Once again, Washington can afford it, especially its arms manufacturers, but Europe is caught in a vicious cycle of austerity and a desperate need of growth. A proxy war in Ukraine could deal a final blow to the poor, beleaguered Old Continent. The most attractive option is for Moscow and Brussels to acknowl-
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edge their mutual interests in Ukraine, creating a federal state that respects the linguistic rights of its minorities. Obviously, entry into NATO and the European Union would be out of the question. In reality it would not be so difficult. The Kremlin needs Ukraine for a variety of reasons. Its mines and steel production are key to Russian heavy industry. It also has a key geopolitical
value: Ukrainian soil is a spearhead pointing to the West and the inviting waters of the Mediterranean. Ukraine is an expression of the Kremlin’s obsession, bordering on paranoia, that Washington and Brussels are a threat to the Russian nation. Not everything is measurable in terms of external security, however. Moscow cannot afford a genuine democracy on its doorstep. The authoritarian regime in Belarus Catalan International View
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suits Russia, as it has suited the corrupt political regimes that have taken turns in holding power in Kiev since the fall of the Soviet Union. A democratic Ukraine would set a ‘bad example’ for the activists who wish to impose a democratic renewal on the Federation’s structures. What remains unclear is whether Putin’s strategy will be successful in the long-term. Superman may well be powerful but he’s not invincible. Reshaping the role of a country like Russia is not a one-man job, it is the work of generations. He strives to man the controls single-handedly, but Ukraine may well prove to be a sticky situation. Putin has fuelled anti-Western rhetoric and stirred up ultra-nationalist sentiments (combining a mixture of nostalgia for the tsarist empire with fond memories of the Soviet Union). The Kremlin is headed in one direction: regaining a heroic role for Russia, even if it is at the expense of international law. According to Angela Merkel, Putin has lost touch with reality. He no longer listens to the oligarch caste who backed him and who now fear their excellent relations with the West will be spoiled. For now, those close to Putin remain silent. He is a man obsessed with internal and external security. His mistrust has caused him to enter into a maelstrom of pre-emptive strikes; any event on the international stage is a potential threat to the Russian state, from the Syrian uprising to the Iranian nuclear program, from gay rights to freedom of the press.
Putin’s problem is that he lacks an ideology of his own. There are still some naïve individuals (in Catalonia and Europe) who see the Ukrainian war as a kind of romantic struggle against Fascism (in the form of the government in Kiev), but the fact is that the ranks of the pro-Russian separatist militants are bolstered by far-right activists from all four corners of the Federation. In the rebel bases I did not see a single red flag or a hammer and sickle. Instead, I saw numerous Tsarist flags and religious icons. Putin has initiated a major ultranationalist shift, with extreme conservatism (felt by much of Russian society) being the dominant factor. Russia clearly lacks an ideology which is competitive at a global level, and its reactionary backlash remains an unattractive project, in sharp contrast to Marxism-Leninism. All this fighting against the ghosts that threaten Russia, all this patriotic rhetoric, all the obsessions that reside in the president’s psyche are reviving the worst tendencies of Russian history: expansionism and isolationism (which are not mutually exclusive). Putin dreams of an empire as a kind of personal goal, but it could turn out once more that the empire is ruling a primitive, isolated society. The West asks how far Moscow will go. The answer is: as far as possible. The proof? During all-out war in Donetsk, Putin let slip the following: ‘Kazakhstan was never an independent country before the fall of the Soviet Union.’ Attention all shipping.
*Nico Valle (Acehúche, 1964). Journalist for the international news section of TV3 (Catalonia television). He is the author of Ubuntu. Estimada Terra Africana (Ubuntu. Beloved African Land. Published by Proa, 2008). He carries out a range of academic functions at the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona and the Universitat Pompeu Fabra. Previously he worked for the international section of the Avui newspaper. Recently he has specialised in current events in Africa, a continent in which he has travelled extensively.
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Opinion
Where is the Kantian peace? by Helena Vicente*
Kantian moral philosophy has exerted a major influence on the political configuration of many societies. Kant outlined a scenario whereby individual freedom and the freedom of each state can coexist alongside the freedom of other people and other states. His achievements include his contribution to the peaceful coexistence between both individuals and nations. Nevertheless, when it comes to international relations and politics, economic and market relations also play a part. While national interests and the policies adopted by each country have a decisive role on the international stage, the market and capital also play an important part when it comes to following, understanding and predicting fluctuations in international politics. An overview
When trying to understand the international political scene, whether looking forward or looking to the past, we can see that history has a cyclical tendency whereby one stage precedes another. Nonetheless, the final stage or model that ought to inspire international politics is the peace proposed by Kant, since it is assumed that it forms the basis of the modern world, thanks to the creation of the United Nations in 1945 following a long and devastating period of war. Although the United Nations was designed by the states themselves and has at its disposal much less power than its charter implies, it can still be considered as a place where important political hegemony is practiced and exercised beyond the influence of the Security Council. It is, therefore, an ideal window through which to observe the evolution of hegemony over the past sixty-eight years which has evolved from bipolarity to unipolarity, to the growing multipolarity of the early years of the twenty-first century. 46
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The 2003 Iraq War saw the beginning of the end of the unipolar system dominated by the US. In his book Liberal Leviathan (2011), the American professor of Politics and International Affairs John Ikenberry, outlined the arguments and foundations on which George Bush based his defence policy and the unsustainability of an imperialist system which acts solely based on self-interest and profit, while simultaneously proclaiming itself the guarantor and defender of worldwide peace and democracy. In short, according to Ikenberry, one could say that the failure of the ‘Global public good’, of the form of Kantian peace as defined by Bush’s government is due to problems of ‘consistency, capacity and legitimacy’, of policies which are not only too costly (both at the economic level and for the American population itself ), but also show contempt towards other world powers. The undervaluation of multilateral organizations and what is known as the ‘common good’, exactly what US policies were supposed to promote and defend in the first place.
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Thus, in the first decade of the century, we realised that not only did the world cease to be unipolar, it appeared as if such a state of affairs was unlikely to repeat itself. This was thanks to the fact that US policies during this period alerted the international community, from the UN to the governments of numerous world powers, to the risks associated with delegating global hegemony to a single power. This period also encouraged the forging of new alliances between the various global players and the extent to which new emerging participants such as movements from civil society were able to influence proceedings. Suffice it to say that while global hegemony does not appear able to reside within organized civil society, its modest yet ever-increasing influence, especially in Western politics, is a factor which should also be taken into consideration when it comes to understanding and predicting trends in international politics. For its part, at the beginning of the twenty-first century the EU was a ma-
jor US ally in its manoeuvres in international politics. However, changes in the implementation of US polices led to growing criticism from European civil society and a part of political society. Coinciding with the height of the housing bubble, among other issues, the EU ceased to blindly follow Bush’s policies. Nevertheless, Europe is well aware that part of its well-being is due to the fact that the defence of its interests has been shared with the US and it also realises that it has too many shared interests for it not to become a silent accomplice.
The United Nations can be considered as an important place where political hegemony is practiced and exercised beyond the influence of the Security Council All in all, one could consider the US and EU behave like a homogeneous unit when we look at the international stage. Together they form a bloc which is unCatalan International View
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likely to dissolve, in spite of experiencing certain misgivings almost until the very end of the twentieth century.
The modest but increasing role of organized civil society is something that should be taken into consideration when it comes to understanding and predicting trends in international politics The end of bipolarism
An important factor to take into consideration before deciding whether the liberal world hegemony led by the US and the EU has had its day is the existence of other world powers with grave economic emergencies and the power of veto on the United Nations Security Council (at least for some of them). This leads us to an international system based on a balance of power between several great powers. China has surpassed Japan as the second global superpower. Though China has high levels of poverty and inequality, these have begun to decline. It is also the largest holder of US public debt, a fact that is highly significant. India is another economic motor worth highlighting, alongside Brazil (together with Mexico), which has become South America’s economic powerhouse, though it has yet to truly demonstrate its economic strength in the short and long term. Meanwhile, Russia is also a major world power and a key geostrategic player which is indispensable when it comes to the European supply of fossil fuels, with all that it entails. While these countries are often taken to be a homogeneous bloc, they all display significant differences between one another, particularly with regard to their international relations, which in turn are highly dependent on their trade relations and also their 48
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history and geography. Such factors ultimately affect the strength and collective actions of these countries in the international political and economic arena. Though they have all experienced rapid economic growth taking an increasingly active role in the global economy, they are all facing significant internal challenges. When we speak of global hegemony one cannot attribute the same role to them all, the same level of influence, particularly on the international stage.
The Chinese question
There are those that warn of the socalled Chinese threat and those that predict the coming of Chinese global hegemony. Nevertheless, nowadays in order to play an active role in international relations a country must have a strong economy and a relatively open market. Both the strength of an economy and its degree of openness require an internal system of development that is not only based on its domestic market, but also on national social structures. Although China has begun to lower poverty rates and internal inequalities, it still faces many challenges in this area as well as in terms of democracy, human rights and other elements which are key to the political feasibility and standardization of a state project, such as the protection of the environment. Nevertheless, internal growth may lead to greater democracy and higher rates of social unrest, accompanied by a greater critical capacity and ability to organize. China may end up with a rapidly ageing population in spite of its strict demographic policy. Although China is and will be a major global economic power, it is highly likely that its internal and external policies will be affected by its inner reality, which sooner or later will have to meet the challenges posed not only by becoming an economic and trade power on the global chessboard but also a place which is conducive to social development.
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Thus, against the current backdrop, with hegemony being shared among several great powers, it is likely that China and the US will establish a balance based on their political and economic interests (in addition to their mutual weaknesses) with occasional alliances with other powers. These, aside from serving as an occasional counterpoint to establishing temporary or stable partnerships, will also be the guardians or guarantors of international relations and the path of the economy and foreign policy. It appears that neither China nor Russia, much less Brazil and India, have the intention or ability to eliminate the US, economically speaking. Meanwhile, a US as part of a permanent alliance with the EU cannot allow China to lose its economic power. At this point, we must not forget the already well-established economic relations between China and the United States. These relations show that while they are radically different countries in cultural, social and economic matters and in spite of the lack of understanding in different aspects of international politics (which have been highlighted by the various reactions among the international community in relation to the Syrian conflict), they are an element to be taken into account when predicting trends in world hegemony in the coming decades. As mentioned earlier, the economic and trade relations undertaken by markets, and supposedly regulated and guaranteed by states, are primarily intended to profit the state itself. In order to establish successful business relationships, trust between the states concerned is a key factor. A good example is how a close alliance between the United States and Europe was forged after World War Two. Apart from being an ally during the conflict, which obviously laid the foundation for trust, the US became the engine for
economic recovery via its trade relations with its European partners. Thus, business relations were based on trust and mutual benefit, while maintaining America’s economic supremacy. Meanwhile, current economic relations between China and the US are based on mutual benefit, competition and a lack of political trust. Nevertheless, in spite of political mistrust and competition, the need for economic understanding is essential for the development of both parties. This leads us to conclude that in the coming decades there will be an economic balance maintained between the interests, opportunities, needs and weaknesses of the parties involved. While we may consider that economic equilibrium and the interests of the parties involved may lead to a certain international political fragility and the abandonment of common interests (such as the rise of democracy and peace, a reduction in hunger and poverty or the preservation Catalan International View
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of the environment), the role played by those nations which are already world powers and emerging global players, such as certain Arab and African nations, may prove key to maintaining this unequal balance which alternates between different world powers. It also appears as if organized civil society and above all the various UN bodies will play a more important role in the coming decades. As I mentioned earlier, it is unlikely that any of the world powers will emerge as the world’s sole hegemonic power. This is due to the apparent and diverse frailties of the great powers of today. It is also unlikely that a new large-scale conflict will be repeated. According to some commentators, economic growth will lead to equal wealth among various countries and it could therefore be expected that this economic balance will produce a greater opening of markets and greater economic stability. This, accompanied by the necessary social policies and a general increase in democracy, they argue, would allow for greater global growth and its subsequent effects as to improving the living conditions of the global population. One could say, therefore (as some economists believe) that globalization, with the opening up of markets and the free flow of capital, could generate stable global growth and well-being for all, a kind of Kantian peace based on economic growth, where hegemony would reside in the sovereignty of each state.
A global challenge
Such a reading of events should be critically examined when one observes the different effects and consequences of globalization. While globalization can lead different countries to adopt the same policies, they do not necessarily generate the same outcomes. In addition, we are currently experiencing the negative consequences of globalization, consequences that lead to widespread poverty and democratic and social instability. This highlights the importance of internal and international policies that cannot solely be guided by economic interests and market forces. They also represent a challenge to the political class on a global level and the various UN organizations to tailor their policies towards fostering the growth of democracy, peace and stability. The global challenge facing the international community is, I would argue, not only to participate in and form a part of the frontrunners in the race for economic and business leadership, but to understand, recognize and promote basic democratic elements that complement and regulate economic growth in order to make it into an inclusive, modernizing and peaceful process. It is a challenge that will need to be adopted and introduced in a real and effective way. It should not only be apparent in the words of the ruling political class but also in their deeds. It is a challenge that will play an increasing role in current and future multilateralism.
* Helena Vicente is a sociologist. She holds a Masters in International Relations and Development Cooperation from the Institut Hegoa and the CIDOB Foundation and a PhD in Corporate Social Responsibility from ESADE. She has been head of Development Education for the Agència Catalana de Cooperació al Desenvolupament (Catalan Agency for Development Cooperation), and has been head of their Mediterranean, Asia and Eastern Europe regions since 2011. She holds an Executive Master in Diplomacy and Foreign Policy by Diplocat (the Public Diplomacy Council of Catalonia).
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Opinion
International strategic action from the local world by Joan Carles Garcia*
In recent years the international outlook of the towns and cities in the province of Barcelona has grown considerably. The economic impetus originating from the need to attract European funds, which for many municipalities served as an introduction to working at the international level, is still important. Nevertheless, there is also a growing incentive for cities to project themselves to the outside world, to position themselves and participate in international spaces in order to publicize their territory’s assets, to exchange know-how, to defend shared interests alongside other local governments and to identify and attract opportunities. International cooperation and solidarity have also both played an important role in our territory in encouraging municipalities to look to the outside world. It is precisely at a time like the present, in which the local world is directly experiencing the impact of the economic crisis, when municipalities ought to maintain and strengthen this orientation towards the outside world, while creating strategic alliances and collaborations with a variety of partners from other countries and regions. In so doing they will promote the sustainable development of the territory in the future. In an atmosphere of high interdependence, international action is no longer the preserve of big cities. Instead, medium-sized cities are starting to claim their place in the world. Small 52
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and medium-sized cities such as those found in the Barcelona region, play a key role in regional development and have a great potential for internationalization. Nevertheless, in order that internationalization makes sense, for it to have a real and sustained impact on the territory and the people who live and work there, it is essential that cities possess an international strategy and that they have the appropriate tools to implement it. To this end, the Barcelona Provincial Council, convinced of the added value of international relations for the improvement of public policy and development planning, created a special-
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ized unit dedicated to supporting local organizations under its jurisdiction as long ago as 1994. Barcelona Provincial Council’s Department of International Relations currently provides services aimed at strengthening the international activities of Barcelona’s local organizations, primarily in terms of European aid, international aid and international development. With the department’s support, the municipalities in our area are participating in and leading transnational networks of cities, managing European projects, obtaining international financing, engaging in advocacy efforts to defend local interests, stimulating civil society’s
commitment to international solidarity and creating alliances with local agents at home in order that they can act in the international sphere. Barcelona Provincial Council, through its international program, has contributed to establishing itself, the municipalities of Barcelona and the surrounding region as a shining example for many subnational governments worldwide. It has made them valued partners in numerous EU programs, together with UN institutions and agencies. The participation in international spaces promoted by the Barcelona Provincial Council is built on complementarities between BarceCatalan International View
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lona’s established international position and the vigorous elements of projection present in the various municipalities in the province. These include the International Fantastic Film Festival of Catalonia, the Barcelona-Catalonia Circuit (race track), Montserrat Abbey, the leading centres of academic excellence in the Spanish state, the Alba Synchrotron and the wide range of touristic and cultural attractions Catalonia has to offer.
The development of outreach plans allow international action to operate as a genuine element of local public policy and functions as a key element in a city’s strategic planning
In this context, the Directorate of International Relations has recently undertaken a new round of research aimed at developing the international activities of the municipalities in the province from a strategic, integrated perspective, placing actions of an international nature within a framework of strategic planning for the medium and long term, with a clear public policy commitment. This perspective represents a step forward in the way local governments operate internationally, in an attempt to move beyond one-off, fragmented or reactive projects which are typically the case. In recent years seven municipalities have opted to initiate a strategic, concerted planning process governing their exterior activities with the assistance of the Barcelona Provincial Council. Vilafranca del Penedès, Castelldefels and Igualada municipalities have already entered the implementation phase of their international projection plans. By early 2015 Manresa, 54
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Granollers, Mataró and Calella municipalities are scheduled to join them, being currently in the development phase of their respective plans. The pioneering nature of these plans and the novelty of their approach to international action, places these municipalities among the leaders in this field in Catalonia. The preparation of such plans governing international action is noteworthy for the political commitment of government teams from the various towns involved to beginning a new era of international relations in their territory, in a wider geographical and institutional framework. There is also a desire to undertake activities which involve the city as a whole and not solely its local government. Indeed, the development of outreach plans allow international action to operate as a genuine element of local public policy and functions as a key element in a city’s strategic planning. It is a process that allows the consolidation of a vision we wish to project of the city as a collective, involving the concerted efforts of various municipal services. It mobilizes and includes representatives of territorial participants (from the private sector, civil society organizations, members of the public, academia and so on), while also attempting to bring onboard opposition groups in the council, to ensure that the plan is passed with the greatest possible consensus, distancing it from electoral issues. These plans for international activities are proving to be a valuable means by which international action by local agents can improve their efficiency and continuity and cease to be perceived as isolated or disconnected from local agents and the public at large. At the same time, it demonstrates the importance of territories and their participants who are involved in defining and identifying their priorities and needs.
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In what is still an incipient stage in the development of strategic plans regarding international relations, we at the Department of International Relations pay special attention to three issues which are key to the success of the implementation of such plans and their eventual impact: strengthening the institutional capacity of local governments to establish a professional public policy concerning international relations; the consolidation of coordination mechanisms for the numerous participants involved in internationalization; and the use of plans as a flexible tool in the medium and long term, that will allow for adjustments according to the needs identified during their implementation, while doing so with sufficient consensus in order that they outlive particular administrations. The international outreach plans that have been put into effect in the province of Barcelona have been developed by municipalities with distinct characteristics, with populations of between approximately 18,000 and 120,000 people. Taking into account this diversity, it is apparent that all municipalities, regardless of their size and capabilities, can aspire to an international strategy of some kind. Such an undertaking is essential if they wish to properly manage a local reality which is largely influenced by the globalization process. It is clear that the participation of local bodies in this globalized world means we must be prepared to face the challenges brought on by this situation. Meanwhile, it also represents an incentive to innovate and become part of the
solution, while representing an opportunity to strengthen local identity and a sense of belonging. Local governments, representing as they do the level of government closest to a country’s citizens, can contribute to Catalonia’s international policy from a local perspective. In this regard, we need to further strengthen cooperation and interinstitutional coordination on international matters, in order to provide our country with greater influence and move towards a public policy of consolidated international relations in the Catalan ambit.
*Joan Carles Garcia holds a BSc in Industrial Design. He has been the Mayor of Tordera since 1995. He has also held a series of posts including: National Councillor of the Municipal Committee of the Catalan Association of Municipalities (2003-2011) and Provincial Member and Chairman of CiU’s Group at the Barcelona Provincial Council. He is currently the Provincial Member to the Presidency, Spokesman and President of CiU’s group at the Barcelona Provincial Council.
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Barcelona Echoes
Barcelona by sea and air by Elisabeth McWilliams*
Barcelona is the number one logistics centre in Southern Europe thanks to its privileged geostrategic position, less than two hours from Europe’s major capital cities. The Barcelona area has a population of 5 million and is a key element in the Mediterranean corridor. It is an important hub connecting the consumer markets in Asia and North Africa as well as Latin American markets (home to some 550 million consumers), together with the Euro-Mediterranean region (300 million consumers). Barcelona’s port and airport clearly have a prominent role to play in this global interchange. Barcelona and Catalonia possess a comprehensive network of logistics platforms connected directly to the country’s major infrastructures, constituting one of the most competitive intermodal logistics systems in Europe. Barcelona’s position as a gateway to Europe and the Mediterranean is consolidated thanks to the fast and efficient interconnections in its transport network and the existence of powerful industrial and commercial sectors. They are essential for economic growth and for improving the competitiveness of businesses. Many of the major infrastructure components, such as Barcelona’s port and airport, the high-speed rail network and major road and rail connec56
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tions, serve the region and businesses internally and externally through a comprehensive logistics network.
Barcelona’s port and airport
The port of Barcelona is Catalonia’s major transport and services infrastructure, it is home to more than 80 regular shipping lines operated by 65 companies that connect the Catalan capital with 300 ports on five continents. It is the European leader as a cruise ship arrival point (and fourth in the world). Meanwhile, Barcelona Airport, which in 2013 inaugurated 67 new routes, now has a total of 311 regular routes connected to over 130 international destinations. It is also the fastest-growing airport in Europe, used
Barcelona Echoes
by more than 35 million passengers each year. Industries related to the logistics sector in Barcelona and Catalonia have a productive network that generates significant employment opportunities (more than 46,000 jobs in Barcelona and 144,000 in Catalonia). In terms of businesses, in Catalonia there are around 33,000 companies specializing in logistics operations and the transport of goods, with an annual turnover in excess of 15,000 million euros.
A leading port
Once again the Port of Barcelona has been awarded a prize by the prestigious publication Cruise Insight (The Global Cruise Market Magazine), as
part of the Cruise Shipping Miami 2014 tradeshow, held from 10th to 13th March. This year, Catalan infrastructure has been recognized in the category of ‘Best Cruise Destination Home’ and that of ‘Most Efficient Terminal Operations’. At the national level, the Port of Barcelona provides added-value with respect to goods, being the leader in terms of turnover and import and export of cargo. 27% of Spain’s and 77% of Catalonia’s foreign trade pass through these facilities. The port is the leader in the Mediterranean region in the transport of vehicles, and also the number one in the Mediterranean and the whole of Europe as the home port for cruise ships. Catalan International View
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It handles 2.6 million passengers, making it fourth in the world, behind the ports of Florida. Barcelona’s leading position has been strengthened by the commitment of the Chinese operator Hutchison to the Port of Barcelona’s efficiency. The company has undertaken a new investment of 150 million euros that will expand the terminal’s handling capacity to 2.65 million containers a year.
Barcelona’s leading position has been strengthened by the commitment of the Chinese operator Hutchison to the Port of Barcelona’s efficiency The optimal performance of the Barcelona Europe South Terminal (BEST) container terminal, which opened in 2012, has driven the world’s leading port operator, Hutchison Port Holdings, to initiate a new investment that will be added to the 1.8 million euro contribution by the Port of Barcelona. 58
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Once the expansion works have been completed, scheduled for the first quarter of 2015, the terminal will have a handling capacity of 2.65 million containers per year, which will provide the port with a capacity of approximately 5.5 million containers. The new facility will have a total of 27 automated blocks for container storage and a 1,500 metre pier in a single alignment (replacing the current 1,000m pier) with a depth of 16.5 meters which is able to handle up to five container-ships simultaneously. The equipment will also be increased, with a total of 54 automated cranes and 11 gantry cranes capable of working with larger ships. With these improvements, the BEST terminal will become the only one of its kind in the area and will continue to strengthen Barcelona’s position as a logistics platform and the leading gateway for freight in Southern Europe. ‘This investment will consolidate Barcelona as the economic capital of Southern Europe and the Mediterranean’, declared the Mayor of Barcelona, Xavier
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Trias, during the opening ceremony at the start of construction of the terminal extension, on 6th June. The ceremony was presided over by the President of the Generalitat, Artur Mas, and was attended by various officials of the Chinese company, the port authority and the Catalan administration.
The best airport in Southern Europe
In March of this year, Barcelona-El Prat Airport received the Best Airport in Southern Europe prize awarded by Skytrax as part of its World Airport Awards 2014. The Skytrax awards are based on worldwide passenger surveys. The award ceremony took place during a reception as part of the Passenger Terminal Expo which was held in Barcelona last March. The Expo was attended by some 3,500 representatives from the airport and airline industry, from 85 countries. It is the third time that Barcelona Airport has won the award (having previously won in 2011 and 2012) based on questionnaires of close to 13 million passengers from 110 countries, regarding more than 400 airports worldwide. The questionnaires evaluate the user’s experience with regard to 39 products and services once the passenger’s journey has been completed, covering aspects such as access, public transport, comfort, cleanliness, billing, traffic, safety and arrivals services. Barcelona-El Prat Airport continues to show growth with respect to 2013. This March it handled 2,700,188 passengers, representing an increase of 6.2%. Thus, in the first quarter, nearly seven million passengers (6,941,477) used the
airport’s facilities, representing a 6% increase over the same period last year. Passengers on international flights originating outside of the European Union were the fastest growing sector in the month of March with 8.9% of the total, underlining a 13.5% increase in intercontinental passengers. Meanwhile, EU passenger numbers remained stable with 6.3% of the total for March. It is worth noting that March also saw an increase in domestic passengers (4.7%) for the first time since January 2012. A breakdown of passengers according to markets reveals a 26.5% growth from the African continent, thanks to routes to Gambia and Morocco as well as the new connection with Dakar. North America also grew by 21.2% mainly thanks to the Philadelphia route continuing during the winter season. On the operational side, Barcelona airport has continued to grow, finishing March with an increase of 1.5%, from a total of 20,962 takeoffs and landings. For the year as a whole, the airport has seen an increase of 1.3% with 56,932 movements so far. Finally, Barcelona airport has handled 9,107,846kg of cargo representing an increase of 6.1% over 2013. There has been a significant 9.3% increase in flights to the EU. The airport transported 24,691,012kg of cargo in the first quarter of 2014, representing a 3.8% increase. These figures and these prospects for the future ensure that Barcelona is recognized as the main logistics centre in Southern Europe besides being the preferred destination of tourists from all five continents, whether they arrive by land, sea or air.
*Elisabeth McWilliams Journalist.
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Universal Catalans
Pau Casals, a life of music and peace
Pau Casals was one of the greatest cellists of the twentieth century and is internationally recognized as one of the best performers and conductors of his time. Born in El Vendrell on December 29th, 1876, Casals displayed a special aptitude for music during his early childhood. His father, also a musician, passed on his knowledge, which Casals subsequently built upon while studying in Barcelona and Madrid. Casals began his professional career as a performer at just twenty-three years of age and went on to appear in the greatest concert halls in the world. As a performer, Casals brought innovative developments to the playing of the cello, and introduced new technical and expressive possibilities. As a director, he also sought expressive depth, the same musical essence he attained with the cello. Casals also worked as a teacher and composer, with works such as El Pessebre (The Nativity) oratorio, which became a veritable hymn to peace.
On 15th April 1931, Casals held a concert on Barcelona’s Montjuic hill in honour of the declaration of the Second Spanish Republic. In 1933, he turned down an invitation to play with the Berlin Philharmonic due to Adolf Hitler’s rise to power and the Nazi persecutions. On 18th July 1936, whilst in the middle of rehearsals, Casals received news of Francisco Franco’s military uprising. When Franco’s troops occupied Barcelona he fled into exile in Paris. In 1940 he was forced to flee once more when the city fell to German troops. This time he went to the United States. According to Casal’s memoirs, and comments made by Albert E. Kahn in 1970, Casals suffered severe hard-
ship during his years of exile in France. This was partly due to his desire not to abandon his fellow exiles interned in concentration camps in the southwest of France during World War Two, under Nazi occupation. He tried to support them by holding benefit concerts, both during and after the war. Casals also provided significant financial support to exiled Catalans between 1938 and 1940. In addition, he wrote hundreds of letters to individuals and international organizations to ask for donations of food, clothing and medicines. Many of these donations were managed in conjunction with two organizations: Chaînes du Bonheur International and the New York-based Spanish Refugee Aid. Catalan International View
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Meanwhile, the time Casals spent in France was musically highly productive. Of particular note is his most famous work, his oratorio El Pessebre, based on a poem by Joan Alavedra to which Pau Casals began to put to music in 1943. A few years later, with the help of his brother Enric, Pau Casals orchestrated the piece, performing the finished piece in Acapulco, on December 17th 1960. Over the next ten years, Pau Casals conducted El Pessebre in the United States, Mexico, England, France, Hungary, Argentina, Greece, Israel, Switzerland, Italy, Puerto Rico, Venezuela and El Salvador, among other countries, with it becoming his most important musical activity in his later years.
In addition to his exceptional career as a musician, Pau Casals always maintained a tireless dedication to the defence of peace and freedom
At the close of World War II, in June 1945, Casals was invited to England, where he had not played in the previous six years. Following a concert at the Royal Albert Hall in London, he conveyed a message of hope to fellow Catalans from the BBC radio studios, at the end of which he played El cant dels ocells (The Song of The Birds). Nonetheless, events did not unfold as Pau Casals had imagined, and at the end of the summer of 1946, due to the Allies’ failure to act against the Franco regime, he decided to stop playing publicly as a form of protest. They were to be years of sorrow and sadness for Casals. A time in which he lived as a bitter recluse in his small refuge in Prada in a part of Catalonia under French sovereignty, during which he dedicated himself to music and teaching. 62
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It was not until 1950, with the inauguration of the first Bach Festival of Prada, that Pau Casals once more appeared on stage on the occasion of the commemoration of the bicentenary of the composer’s death. The first Bach Festival concert took place on June 2nd, five years after Casals had last played in public and he did so with a rendition of Bach’s first suite. The festival was an unprecedented musical event. For many young musicians it was the first time they had the opportunity to work with Casals and received a series of unforgettable master classes from the greatest performer of Bach. The festival has been held in Prada every summer since then, transforming the town into a meeting point of the best musicians in the world for a few months at a time. Pau Casals was to attend almost all of the festivals that were held. 1950 also saw Casals presiding over the Jocs Florals de la Llengua Catalana (The Floral Games of the Catalan Language) in Perpignan. In December 1955 Pau Casals made his first trip to Puerto Rico, the birthplace of his mother, and in 1956 he settled in the town of San Juan. On August 3rd 1957 Casals married Marta Montáñez and for some years his musical activity was closely linked to the Casals Festival in Puerto Rico, which was organized with the help of several private sponsors. In spite of the change of residence, Casals continued to travel to Europe until 1966, to participate in the annual Prada Festival and the Zer64
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matt Summer Academy, where he had taught master classes since 1952. In addition to his exceptional career as a musician, Pau Casals always maintained a tireless dedication to the defence of peace and freedom. Numerous benefit concerts and his involvement in the United Nations’ humanitarian activities characterised him as a man of peace. Casals passed away in 1973 at the age of ninety-six, in San Juan, Puerto Rico. His remains rest in the cemetery of his hometown, El Vendrell, Catalonia. Casals’ personal collection is housed in the National Archive of Catalonia. The collection contains one of his most symbolic appearances, his speech to the General Assembly of the United Nations, on October 24th 1971, on the oc-
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casion of being awarded the Medal of Peace. Casals played the El cant dels ocells and spoke to the world of his country: by ‘This is the greatest honour of my life. Peace has always been my greatest concern. I learnt to love it when I was but a child. When I was a boy, my mother (an exceptional, marvellous woman) would talk to me about peace, because at that time there were also many wars. What is more, I am Catalan. Today a province of Spain. But what has been Catalonia? Catalonia has been the greatest nation in the world. I will tell you why. Catalonia had the first parliament, much before England. Catalonia had the beginning of the United Nations. All the authorities of Catalonia in the Eleventh Century met in a city of France, at that
time Catalonia, to speak about peace, at the Eleventh Century. Peace in the world and against, against, against wars, the inhumanity of wars. So I am so happy, so happy, to be with you today. That is why the United Nations, which works solely towards the peace ideal, is in my heart, because anything to do with peace goes straight to my heart. I have not played the cello in public for many years, but I feel that the time has come to play again. I am going to play a melody from Catalan folklore: El cant dels ocells. Birds sing when they are in the sky, they sing: “Peace, Peace, Peace”, and it is a melody that Bach, Beethoven and all the greats would have admired and loved. What is more, it is born in the soul of my people, Catalonia’. Catalan International View
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A Poem Curated by Enric Bou Professor in Hispanic Studies, Università Ca’ Foscari di Venezia
Unity
Unitat
For Maria José and Octavio Paz
A Maria José i Octavio Paz
Dictated by evening, Dictated by dark air, the circle opens And we dwell within: transitions, intervening Space. Not the place Of reunion. The blade That cleaves the light. From the eye to the gaze, The permanent brightness, the ambit of sounds, The bell that brings the terrestrial vision to a close Like the inexorable eye of floral shape Steadies the fire of a carbuncle. This eye, Does it see my eye? It is a mirror of flames, The eye that now sees me. The cry of pulleys, The sound of night axles. Dismasted, Darkness collapses and, feeling its way, The sun meets the night.
Dictat pel capvespre, dictat per l’aire fosc, el cercle s’obre i hi habitem: transicions, espai intermedi. No el lloc de la revelació, sinó el lloc del retrobament. El glavi que divideix la llum. De l’ull a la mirada, la claror permanent, l’àmbit del sons, la campana que clou la visió terrestre com l’ull inexorable de la forma floral fixa el foc d’un carbuncle. Aquest ull ¿veu al meu ull? És un mirall de flames l’ull que ara em veu. Amb so de corrioles, els eixos de la nit. Desarborada, s’esfondra la foscor i, a les palpentes, el sol coneix la nit.
(Translated by D. Sam Abrams)
Pere Gimferrer (Barcelona, 1945) writes mostly poetry, prose, literary and art criticism, both in Spanish and Catalan. In 1966 he published in Spanish a path-breaking book Arde el Mar, which revitalized Spanish poetry. In 1970 he started writing poetry in Catalan: Els miralls, Hora foscant, L’espai desert. His latest book is El castell de la puresa (2014). His poetry is discursive and metaliterary, linking with special moments of the literary tradition, the Baroque, the avant-garde. Gimferrer explores the tenuous boundaries between artistic reality and reality from a poetic perspective. He is also the author of inspired poetical prose dealing with esthetic issues, Dietari (1979-1980), Segon dietari (1980-1982), and others with a more autobiographical approach such as L’agent provocador (1998). Since 1985 he has been a member of the Real Academia Española and in 1988 he was awarded the Creu de Sant Jordi.
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A Short Story from History
Curated by Manuel Manonelles
The Dalmases Embassy and The Case of the Catalans (IV) On March 1713, Pau Ignasi de Dalmases i Ros left Barcelona for London. He did so in his capacity as ambassador of the Catalan authorities to the Court of Saint James. His mission was to call for the honouring of the agreements signed between the representatives of Catalonia and those of Queen Anne of England in 1705 in the city of Genoa. According to these agreements, Catalonia entered into the War of the Spanish Succession on the side of the Habsburg candidate under the warranty of the Crown of England that, regardless of the outcome of the war, Catalonia would retain its traditional Constitutional and Parliamentary system and their associated liberties. We are currently celebrating the tercentennial of these events, and this temporary section is not only aimed at following the tortuous journey of the Catalan ambassador, but also to know more about what in the different chancelleries of Europe, as well as in the published opinion of that time, came to be known as ‘The Case of the Catalans’. In this fourth and final instalment, the focus is on the last months of the development of the war, the intransigence of the Bourbon kings, Philip V of Spain and Louis XIV of France, towards the Catalan liberties and freedoms; and the change in the political context resulting from the death of Queen Anne of Britain and the arrival of King George, the first from the House of Hannover. Particular attention is given to the efforts of the Catalan diplomats in London, The Hague and Vienna. These included discussions on the eventual creation of a Catalan independent Republic under the protection of Britain and the Empire, a project which vanished with the fall of Barcelona the 11th September 1714, following the heroic resistance of thirteen months of harsh siege –which prompted the admiration of the whole of Europe. Following the occupation of the city and of the fortress of Cardona (the last to surrender on 18th September 1714) the new authorities would dissolve, manu militari, the secular Catalan parliamentary and constitutional system, one of the most sophisticated of the time; while starting a century-long policy of repression against the Catalan language and culture.
The journey part IV & final (from May 1714 to October 1714): 16 May 1714 12 June 1714 22 June 1714 6 July 1714
15 July 1714
20 July 1714
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Pau-Ignasi de Dalmases disembarks once again in England, returning from the German and Dutch states where he had been promoting the Catalan cause.
The bad health of Queen Anne, and the consequent turmoil in the kingdom, blocks any new attempts of negotiations by the Catalan ambassador in London. Special prayers are held at London’s Presbyterian churches in support of the Catalans.
The Duke of Berwick arrives to the camp of Barcelona with an army of 20,000 French troops. This doubles the number of soldiers maintaining the siege of Barcelona to 40,000 men, against the 6,000 defending the city. To this we have to add several tens of thousands of Bourbon troops occupying the whole country, keeping another siege at the fortress of Cardona, as well as repressing local uprisings or attempts to succour the capital city of the Principality. The British press follows with admiration the resistance of the Catalans and its struggle defending its freedom: ‘...The Name of Barcelona will be dear for the future to all Lovers of Liberty and the Courage of its Inhabitants remembered with a peculiar Veneration...’ (The Present State of Europe, July 1713) Tension growths in Great Britain amidst rumours of preparations in France of an army commanded by James III, the Jacobite Pretender, to invade the island.
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12 August 1714 13 August 1714
28 August 1714
4 September 1714 6 September 1714 8 September 1714
Queen Anne of Great Britain, the last of the Stuarts, dies at Kensington Palace. King George, the first of the House of Hannover and still residing in his German states, is proclaimed new sovereign in Saint James Palace. The Regency is established.
The Catalan ambassador, Pau Ignasi de Dalmases, reactivates his intense diplomatic contacts in London due to the new political context that favours the Whigs vs. the Tory government and, therefore, opening a window of opportunity to the Catalan cause. He meets lords Argyle, Halifax and Portmore, as well as with general Peterborough. In the small town of Talamanca (Bages) a fierce combat ensued between the Catalan and the Franco-Spanish army, which is defeated. However the attempt at breaking the siege of Barcelona and introducing fresh troops remains unaccomplished. Ambassador Dalmases suggests to the Regency the intervention of the Royal Navy to defend Barcelona from the Franco-Spanish attacks. In parallel fierce combats continue in Catalonia, particularly in the surroundings of Barcelona.
Barcelona rejects the proposal of capitulation and decides, besides the 13 months long siege and the constant bombings, to continue its resistance. The Lords of the Regency inform the Catalan ambassador in London that orders have been sent to the units of the Royal Navy scattered around the Mediterranean to gather in Mahon (Minorca) for an eventual rescue mission to Barcelona. A Catalan diplomat on a visit to Utrecht is informed by the Russian ambassador, Count Sakulnik, as to the latter’s recent audience with the new King George I (travelling from Hannover to London); and of the king’s pro-Catalan sentiments and public statements.
11 September 1714 At 4:30 a.m. in the morning a massive Franco-Spanish assault begins against Barcelona’s largely destroyed ramparts. Fierce fighting lasts for hours, first on the walls and then in the streets of the city, with the attacking army losing about ¼ of its troops in a single day (c. 10,000 men). However at 3 p.m., after a huge slaughter, the exhausted defenders (after more than 400 days of siege and the immediate danger of having the city sacked and burnt to the ground) agree to open negotiations regarding capitulation. 13 September 1714 The Duke of Berwick enters and occupies Barcelona with his army.
14-16 September 1714 The Catalan flags, symbols and Constitutions are burned in the public square. The secular Catalan institutions (including Barcelona’s Council of the Hundred), as well as its Constitutional and Parliamentary system, are abolished. These are replaced by a new repressive administrative system under military command, which will last for more than two centuries. 17 September 1714 The Catalan Universities are abolished by military decree.
18 September 1714 The Catalan ambassador in The Hague (still unaware of the situation in Barcelona) has an audience with King George I, on his way from Hannover to London. The new British king reasserts his support for the Catalan cause. The same day, the fortress of Cardona, the last bastion of Catalan liberties, capitulates with military honours. However, once the fortress is in the hands of the occupying army, this fails to respect the conditions of capitulation. 22 September 1714 In clear violation of Barcelona’s capitulation agreements, the commanders of the surrendered Catalan troops are taken into custody. Some are subsequently executed, others sent to jail. Fall 1714
April-August 1715
A pamphlet entitled The Deplorable History of the Catalans by Defoe is published by J. Baker in London, criticizing the abandonment by the British government.
A Committee of Secrecy is appointed in the House of Commons, chaired by Robert Walpole, to investigate the alleged miscarriages of the previous British government (headed by Lord Oxford and Lord Bolingbroke) including their behaviour in relation to Catalonia. This will result in the impeachment of both lords for “High Treason other High Crimes and Misdemeanours” for, among others, their ‘treacherous treatment’ of the Case of the Catalans (Art. VI of Impeachment).
“The Catalans, thus abandoned and given up to their enemies, contrary to faith and honour, were not however, wanting to their own defence; but appealing to Heaven, and hanging up at the High Altar the Queen’s solemn declaration to protect them, underwent the utmost miseries of a siege; during which multitudes perished by famine and the sword, many were afterwards executed, and many persons of figure were dispersed about the Spanish Dominions and dungeons.” Tindal, History of England, 1745
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The Artist
The Piano by Enrique Juncosa (Translated by Jonathan Brennan)
Catherine rang at a quarter to seven in the morning. It was the first time he had spoken to her since she had left. In his mind, Timothy had prepared a list of things to say to her on this occasion, but now he found himself incapable of organising his thoughts. Nothing made sense. Undoubtedly, she had called very early in order to wake him and catch him at a bad moment, knowing full well that he always practised late into the night. Without asking him how things were going, or indeed allowing him to say anything (she said she only had a couple of minutes to speak), Catherine informed him that they were going to have a meeting with her father, who was also her lawyer, in a week’s time, at 8 a.m. sharp on the day after the concert because that same evening she would be going to Ibiza with the girls. Timothy felt uncomfortable with the speed of these proceedings, which to him hardly seemed urgent, especially when he needed calm now more than ever. He responded, still groggy, that he could not understand how all she could be thinking of was going on holiday. His wife replied that unless he felt like torturing them further by putting obstacles in their way he could not stop them. To save him any trouble (which was proof of her generosity and patience – after all, the children belonged to both of them) she had already spoken to the school to arrange the time off. Some days in the fresh air would be good for all of them, unable to stand any more the confinement they had to suffer every time that he had an “important” (for him) concert – like now – when he would practise as if nothing else in the world existed beyond his piano. However, the truth was that she did not want to linger on this topic – having already ready left him meant it no longer posed a problem for her. She reminded him, in case he hadn’t noticed, which was probably the case, that there had been torrential rain for days now and they had had enough. She and the girls were migrating south to recover in the sun. In any case, they would only be gone for a little over two weeks. Just then, Timothy remembered that before everything 70
had taken place, his wife, who still had a perfect figure, had bought some skimpy, multi-coloured print bikinis. At the time, he had thought it somewhat extravagant – he could not imagine when and where she would have the chance to show them off. Now the mystery was solved. His wife had been preparing for this for some time, but had kept up the pretence all along. She had no shame. Even thinking about it left him floored. Catherine was more terrible than the wild carnivores of the jungle. It was now two weeks since she had left, not long after they had reached nine years of married life. They had met in the music conservatory and married a few months later. They were in love and the envy of everyone. Not just young and attractive, but also talented. They were going to take over the world. Almost immediately, the girls arrived. Both were beautiful. Catherine dedicated herself to looking after them while her husband pursued his career. All of this, it now turned out, had been a cause for resentment. His wife’s father, a consummate snob with whom he had never got on well, called him just a few hours after his wife had left in order to give him a series of practical instructions. More than half of his earnings would be hers and they would have to sell the house and divide equally whatever they could get for it. From that moment on, Timothy felt like a criminal. Or an undocumented immigrant in an EU state. The breakup scene had been awful. Andrew, yes, the Andrew that had, up until then, seemed like an insignificant figure, had come to collect them one Saturday morning. Timothy was just arriving home in time to have lunch with his family after a concert in Birmingham, where he had played Bartók, when he found suitcases in the doorway of the house. On entering the kitchen to set down on the table some presents he had brought (yellow roses for his wife and some chocolate biscuits for the girls) he found him calmly reading The Guardian. It had to be his copy, because he had a daily
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subscription. There were few things that annoyed him more than having his paper messed up before getting the chance to read it. Some people were even capable of mixing up the pages, especially the Saturday supplements. Catherine, for example, was one of these types. Without even getting up out of his seat, Andrew greeted him with the barest movement of his eyebrows and a throaty sound like the clicking of those strange consonants in the Zulu language. He was wearing a pair of round, red glasses and a ridiculous tie with a pattern of purple rabbits and yellow geese. They stared at each other, without knowing what to do, until Catherine, who had heard the door from above, shouted to him from the top of the stairs that she was finishing the packing and requested that he not make a scene – they had not expected him back quite so early. Andrew’s gaze remained fixed on him while he listened to his wife’s disconcerting shrieks. Timothy shouted that he did not understand what she was talking about, while feeling irritated with the intrusion of this bystander. Catherine responded, screeching again, that she did not think it was so very difficult to understand.
Timothy was gobsmacked. He ran out of the kitchen and up the stairs to the first floor where the bedrooms and his daughters’ playroom were. As he bounded up the stairs two at a time, various chaotic thoughts began to press down on him. It was true that for several weeks now he had felt distanced from his wife, to whom he barely spoke, but he had convinced himself that this was something normal in all marriages. He only had to think of his parents, or of Peter and Deborah, some mutual friends who seemed to get on well despite having continuous love affairs. His heart pounded, but he was not going to lose it in front of Andrew, a third-rate violinist who played in his wife’s mediocre quartet and whom he barely knew. Besides, he was not yet certain, although by now had a strong suspicion, that this extremely thin, pale as glass man, with his thick, colourful, bottle bottom glasses and posh accent could be the one responsible for this unforeseen crisis. When he reached the bedroom where Catherine was hastily folding the blue jumper that he had given her for her last birthday, she said, without even turning to face him:
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“Be a pet, would you, and try not to make things more difficult?” There was something in the tone and body language of this woman, now a total stranger, that prevented him from approaching her. He spun around and went, almost ran, to the girls’ room. Karen, who was six years old, was crying hysterically, while Samantha, two years older than her sister, took no notice of her and drew pictures of brightly coloured animals on sheets of paper that she scattered across the bedroom floor. Both were aware that something earth-shattering was taking place, and this affected each one in different ways according to their personalities. Samantha was cold and reserved like her mother, although now she was drawing with a force that threatened to ruin her markers. Timothy took Karen in his arms and tried to soothe her. He stood with her at the window, his gaze lost in the street below, and whispered tender words to her. Samantha kept drawing, and remained silent. Her father had always found it difficult to have an easy relationship with her. Catherine entered the room after him. “Girls, be good and say goodbye to your father. I told you already that today we are going to sleep in a new house, nicer than this one, with a beautiful garden. It’s full of squirrels and blackbirds… And at last you will have a cat… called Arthur. He’s big, fluffy and black and white… And very soon, we’ll go to the beach for a few days. You can swim morning, noon and night. We’ll live outside in the fresh air and I’ll let you drink Coke with ice cubes. And after we’ll come back to collect all your toys.” It was then that Timothy realised that she had bought those expensive, and scandalous, bikinis for Andrew. Lately, his wife had been saying again that Hackney, the area in which they lived, was not the most appropriate place for the girls. He seemed to remember that this vile creature, who was currently creasing his newspaper in the kitchen, lived in an enormous house in Notting Hill, probably the most expensive neighbourhood in the city. Apparently he also owned a holiday home in Spain. Timothy’s head was like a pressure cooker building up steam. A machine hissing with burning, deafening bursts. The beating of his heart thundered like powerful sledgehammer blows. The footsteps of some bloodcurdling ogre leaving chaos and devastation in its wake. Meanwhile, Catherine acted as if nothing out of the ordinary were taking place. Her cruelty pained and perplexed him. They had made love only three nights previously, after dining out with Peter and Deborah and having had one too many. It was true that it had been months since they 72
had been able to talk to one another. Any conversation, even on the most insignificant topic, led to a furious argument. Nothing, however, had warned to him that this catastrophe was about to explode. His wife had not even given him the chance to speak and defend himself. Unable to react or move, Timothy squeezed Karen tightly as she continued crying. He pressed his cheek against his daughter’s fine silky hair. He could already feel the scale of what he was about to lose. “It’s your fault she’s crying like that. You could try to calm her down instead of strangling her as if you were never going to see her again. My father told me, I can tell you now, that it will be your turn one weekend every month…. See? You’ll be able to play the piano without anyone disturbing you. If you weren’t so selfish, you’d thank me.” He was lost. All he was conscious of was the power and gravity of what was taking place. He had trouble standing up. His wife’s voice was a highly efficient torture instrument, and meanwhile he had lost the power of speech. Even thinking was as difficult as performing a complex feat of circus acrobatics. Catherine grabbed Karen and dragged Samantha downstairs by the hand. Before Timothy could even react, girls and bags had been stowed inside an enormous Jaguar. It was black, like a starless night. Catherine now hid behind some mirrored sunglasses which he had never seen before. He could not see her eyes. She tried to act as if the situation did not affect her in any way, but at the last moment her chin started to quiver. Later, just before getting into the car, she slipped. She would have fallen flat on her face if Andrew, who had opened the car door for her, had not been at her side. Taking her by the waist, he had said something to her in a low voice that Timothy heard very clearly and had been obsessing over ever since. “Everything is going to be fine my little angel. Let’s go to our house”
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As soon as Timothy was alone, he collapsed on the sofa. He wept for hours, going over the scene in his head again and again, always with the same feeling of total impotence. His wife had come to this decision without deeming it necessary to first discuss it with him. It was a way of transmitting her visceral loathing and inflicting as much damage as possible. Apparently he was solely responsible for the tedium they had lived through together lately. Later, unaware even of the time, he sat down at the piano. He went directly to the third movement of the “Hammerkavier” sonata: Adagio sostenuto, appassionato e con molto sentimento. Then something totally unexpected happened. For the first time ever, he felt incapable of playing that work which he previously believed no longer held any secrets from him. Without wishing to, it took on a wholly unnecessary, majestic and accelerated mood. On top of that, he made mistakes. The music made no sense to him. He started over again and again, becoming increasingly nervous. He spent hours repeating the movement without any improvement. He made the kinds of mistakes a beginner would make. When he stopped, it was ten o’clock at night and he was exhausted. He had not eaten anything all day yet had no appetite. He made a Japanese green tea. He was so distracted that when he went to drink it, it was cold. His fingers and his back ached. He did some stretching exercises. Drained, but not knowing what else to do, he sat down at the piano again. The same thing happened which had been occurring all evening. Some time later, he rose like a sleepwalker, full of despair. He paced from one end of the room to the other, unconscious of what he was doing. Finally he found himself standing at the bookcase, just in front of the photo of Catherine and the girls on holiday in Corfu.
All three were smiling and looking beautiful. Then he took a shower. For a long time, he allowed the water to rain down on him as if to rehydrate himself. He went to bed not knowing how he was ever going to be able to drift off. A period of long sleepless nights began. From what he could make out, Catherine and Andrew had been lovers for a little over a year. Timothy had seen them play together on a few occasions, but did not remember having exchanged anything more than a few pleasantries with him before and after the quartet concerts he had attended. Catherine had never wanted them to be seen outside professional situations. This minimal contact meant that Timothy saw Andrew as someone insipid and of few words, whose only eccentricity consisted in a collection of pairs of glasses of different colours and designs. His violin playing was passable, however, when he played he made the most unpleasant and grotesque grimaces. One was much better off listening to him with eyes closed. Timothy had not suspected a thing, although his sister Ann had been saying for some time that there was something about Catherine that suggested that things were not as they had been in the beginning. Indeed, on several occasions, her behaviour had bordered on unpleasant. Her reactions were vindictive, exaggeratedly so, and to her they seemed unfair. That all this should take place just when he had received confirmation of his concert at the Royal Albert Hall – probably the most important of his career to date – was no coincidence, according to his sister. Catherine, Ann said, was twisted, jealous and competitive and her career had stalled for some time now. Her quartet had not managed to break out of a circuit of second-rate, amateur concert halls. Andrew must not have minded because he came from a rich family and played as a hobby, but it must have bothered her because she had always been ambitious. She was not about to grant Timothy this important milestone. She knew well that his agent was already finalising other contracts. The following concert, after the one in London, would be in Carnegie Hall and after that he was lined up to play in a series of mythical venues in Chicago, Munich, Paris, Madrid, Vienna… In Ann’s view, Catherine had to be consumed with envy instead of feeling proud of her husband’s achievements. Timothy had acquired some notoriety for the seductive ease with which he played the Beethoven sonatas. He liked the late sonatas most of all and was now
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going to play the “Hammerklavier” Sonata, Op. 106 and the Sonata in C Minor, Op. 111, the composer’s final one, in the same programme. At the moment, those two sonatas were his favourites. Nevertheless, recent events had made him lose his concentration. He thought about his daughters, who had disappeared from his life in floods of tears. He had not been permitted to say goodbye in a form that could be described as human. Ann, an eminently practical woman, had offered to move in and help him out until the day of the concert. She herself had recently separated from her partner, a Brazilian architect who had decided in the end to return home. Timothy knew straight away that this was not a good idea and declined, but Ann rang every day at lunchtime to enquire after him and ask if there was anything he needed. Deborah, who Timothy had always believed thought more highly of his wife, was also acting very sympathetically. She did not live far from the house and some nights brought over trays of food that she had prepared herself. She was angry at the way Catherine had disappeared. It did not help matters that she had concealed her plans from her too. His agent also rang every day, offering to visit at any time, but Timothy preferred to be alone and concentrate on his work. He had not told even his sister that he was having problems with the sonatas. He imagined that airing this second topic would double the amount of calls and visits from those who were worried about him. Besides, Deborah, who was also in contact with his wife, might pass on this information, and he was not going to allow her the satisfaction. He spent hours sitting at the piano. He had an 1880 Bechstein which had belonged to Franz Liszt. He had purchased it a very good price from an old aristocrat, an admirer of his. The sound of the Bechstein was extraordinary and it was in an impeccable state of conservation. The problems Timothy was experiencing must have been to do with some unknown insecurity. To him it seemed, and this was a new sensation of which he was not entirely convinced, that everything sounded better if he used the pedal more frequently, rather than only on a few occasions, to highlight the contrast of sonorities in a music already so dense and profound. There were other problems. For example, when he played the fugue from the “Hammerklavier”, he closed the series of octaves that develop the main theme with the tonic B flat which seems clearly demanded in bars 114 and 115. He was unable to retain control and not playing that note, even knowing that the real climax 74
of the movement was in bar 116, when one reached a low C that continued for another ten bars. The dominant harmony in these later moments lent the music an extraordinary supernatural beauty. In the Sonata in C minor, Op. 111, with which he planned to conclude the concert, the problems started invariably in bar 48, with the jumps from treble to bass and bass to treble with a diminished seventh chord, introducing a new, very expressive theme with an emphatically resounding rhythm. Everything repeats and is ornamented with elaborate arabesques of 12, 15 and 16 notes, slowing the tempo continuously until it reaches a short adagio of unusual brevity. Then a descending cascade of chords in thirds, as if broken, concludes in bar 58 with a theme resembling a military march, returning, finally, to a monophonic texture, brutally punctuated by a sforzando in every bar. Everything here he found difficult, although after this he continued without issue until bars 100 to 120. Now the bass changed in practically every bar, producing a hugely exhilarating effect, and where one had to demonstrate one’s virtuosity if one wanted to stress the tension demanded by the score. He began well, but gradually let himself become possessed by a mechanical and diabolical velocity which did not leave space to comprehend or admire the intricacies of this music which was so special and which had to be, undoubtedly, one of the finest offerings of European culture. After rehearsing, Timothy felt drained. He had to resolve the problem of how to make the music his own again. It was as if his entrance into paradise had been vetoed ever since Catherine had taken off with the girls. If one day he seemed to overcome the difficult passages it was only to continue making mistakes in other places. All of these insecurities pointed towards a terrible night when he would have to face the public. He slept little, alternating between his daughters’ beds.
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He was nervous and irritable. He was possessed by an aggression that was alien to him and frightened him. It was as if he were the protagonist of a thriller about to commit a serious criminal blunder. He arranged some of his children’s cuddly toys on the piano, but this only made him feel ridiculous. He asked Catherine to buy them mobile phones so he could call them whenever he wanted, but she had refused, saying that they were still young to have such responsibility. Besides, she did not think it was a good idea that he could “bother them� at any time he liked. He did not think that phoning his daughters could ever count as bothering them, but his father-in-law also had very clear ideas on this subject and had threatened to make things more difficult for him. Days passed without his noticing. He was locked up with the piano, making mistakes over and over. He hardly left the house. He also thought about his family, but he could not see any way of improving their conjugal situation. To go chasing after his wife would have been deeply humiliating. Catherine was stubbornness personified. Tickets had sold out within hours of going on sale. Timothy could not believe that the day of the concert had already arrived. He had hardly thought of anything else. The girls were not going to attend because, as expected, their mother did not think it a good idea. The night before the concert, Timothy had a strange nightmare. He and his wife were on a dimly lit stage in an auditorium full of people. She wore a tiny bikini and began to screech when he played the piano. In the end, losing his patience, he stood up and picked up a clarinet that he found next to his piano stool. He marched over to his wife and had smacked her over the head with the instrument, splitting it in two like a walnut. She hit the ground as if struck by lightning, and lay very still, face down. Blood started to trickle from her mouth. The blood gleamed red under the spotlights. Suddenly an enormous, furry, black and white cat appeared out of nowhere and began licking up the blood. While it did this it purred with enormous pleasure. The audience applauded wildly. Just then he noticed Beethoven seated in one of the first rows wearing a red dress coat and white wig. He was not clapping and gazed at him with a look of total sadness and clear disapproval. At last, it was the final hour before going on stage. The concert hall was full and there was an air of excitement. Some of the newspapers had referred to him as
the greatest pianist of his generation, if not the most outstanding from his country currently performing. It happened as soon as he walked out on stage. An infinite sadness descended on him when he saw the three empty seats that he had reserved for his wife and daughters in the middle of row fifteen, where he had seen Beethoven in his homicidal dream. Now, however, there was no way back. For all that, his playing was vigorous yet restrained. He became, in a way, the monumental music he played. He felt light and in total possession of all his abilities. All the practice had not been for nothing. He had no problems with the Allegro, nor the brief scherzo, assai vivace. Then the third movement came off like never before, truly passionate and with much feeling. He played and played, noticing aspects of the music that until now had evaded him. As he played the final Largo, allegro risoluto, it seemed to him that the music was transparent and crystalline. Perhaps the saddest in the world. As he played he felt love for everyone around him. Perhaps one needed the presence of an audience to experience this sensation. When he finished the first sonata, the applause was astonishing. Later, he was unable to recall exactly what he felt during those moments. He was empty and the music continued to sound inside his head. His body was possessed by an unusual energy. The last sonata was even better. He was able to harness all of the pain he felt and put it into the first movement, the Maestoso yet allegro con brio e appassionato. He thought of the love he had felt when he was young, and the love that he now had for his daughters. Finally, he faced the Arietta: un adagio molto semplice e cantabile. He felt weightless. He was still himself, yet transfigured into a strange form of absolute pleasure. All was beautiful and all had feeling. And the end imparted to him, in some inexpressible way, the very consciousness of death. The audience were on their feet applauding and shouting like a single rabid animal. Their enthusiasm was truly phenomenal. Timothy leaned with one hand on the piano and waved emotionally, unable to hold back the tears. He was afraid he would collapse. He wanted to be the clouds and he wanted to be the wind. Transported to the highest heights, he also wanted his body to disintegrate into heavy raindrops over the vast ocean. He felt an endless vertigo, as if he were falling in love. His body dissolved in a spiral of spinning colours and sweetly sonorous harmonies yet untold...
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Editorial Board Martí Anglada Former foreign news editor at TV3 (Catalonia Television). He has been foreign correspondent in the Middle East, Italy and Great Britain (1977-1984) for the Barcelona newspaper La Vanguardia and TV3’s foreign correspondent in the United States (1987-1990), Brussels and Berlin (2009-2011). He has also been an international political commentator. His books include Afers no tan estrangers [Not So Foreign Affairs] (Editorial Mina, 2008), Quatre vies per a la independència: Estònia, Letònia, Eslovàquia, Eslovènia [Four Ways To Independence: Estonia, Latvia, Slovakia, Slovenia] (Editorial Pòrtic, 2013) and La via alemanya [The German Way] (Brau Edicions, 2014).
Enric Canela (Barcelona, 1949). Holds a degree in Chemistry from the Universitat de Barcelona (UB) and a PhD in Chemistry, specialising in Biochemistry. He has taught at the UB since 1974, where he is currently Professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology and collaborates on research into intracellular communication. He also conducts research on theoretical Biochemistry and regularly publishes in scientific journals of international repute. He is a member of numerous scientific societies. Between 1991 and 1995 he was vice-president of the Catalan Society of Biology. Between 2007 and 2009 he was president of the Circle for Knowledge. Between 2007 and 2011 he was a patron of the National Agency for Evaluation, Certification and Accreditation (ANECA) in Spain. He is currently vice-rector of Science Policy at the UB.
Salvador Cardús (Terrassa, 1954). PhD in Economics at the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB). Visiting researcher at the University of Cambridge, Cornell University (USA) and Queen Mary College of the University of London. Currently he is professor of Sociology at the UAB and the former Dean of the Faculty of Political Sciences and Sociology. He has conducted research into the sociology of religion and culture, media, nationalism and identity. His published works include, Plegar de viure [Giving Up on Life] with Joan Estruch, Saber el temps [Understanding Time], El desconcert de l’educació [The Education Puzzle], Ben educats [Well Educated] and El camí de la independència [The Road To Independence]. In the field of journalism he was the editor of the Crònica d’Ensenyament magazine (1987-1988) and was deputy editor of the Avui newspaper (1989-1991). He contributes to ARA, La Vanguardia, Diari de Terrassa and Deia newspapers. He is a member of the Institut d’Estudis Catalans.
August Gil-Matamala Has been a practising lawyer since 1960, specialising in the fields of criminal and labour law. He has taken part in numerous cases in defence of those on trial for their demands in favour of people’s rights, as well as hearings before the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg. Gil-Matamala fought the first successful case against the Spanish state for the violation of basic rights. He is a founder member of the Commission for the Defence of Individual Rights of the Col·legi d’Advocats de Barcelona (the Barcelona Bar Association) and the Catalan Association for the Defence of Human Rights, which he presided over from its foundation in 1985 to 2001. Gil-Matamala has also been president of both the Fundació Catalunya and the European Democratic Lawyers organization. In 2007, coinciding with his retirement, he received the Creu de Sant Jordi (St. George’s Cross, the highest honour awarded by the Catalan government).
Montserrat Guibernau Professor of Politics at Queen Mary College, University of London. Holds a PhD and an MA in Social and Political Theory from the University of Cambridge and a degree in Philosophy from the Universitat de Barcelona. She has taught at the universities of Warwick, Cambridge, Barcelona, the London School of Economics and the Open University. Guibernau has held visiting professorships at the universities of Edinburgh, Tampere, Pompeu Fabra, the UQAM (Quebec) and the Austrian Academy of Sciences. Currently she holds a visiting fellowship at the Centre for the Study of Global Governance, London School of Economics. Montserrat Guibernau is the author of numerous books and articles on nationalism, the nation-state, national identity, and national and ethnic minorities in the West from the perspective of global governance.
Guillem López-Casasnovas (Minorca, 1955). Holds a degree in Economics (distinction, 1978) and Law (1979) from the Universitat de Barcelona (UB) and a PhD in Public Economics from the University of York (1984). He has been a lecturer at the UB, visiting scholar at the Institute of Social and Economic Research, University of Sussex and at the Graduate School of Business at the University of Stanford. Since 1992 he is full professor of economics at Barcelona’s Universitat Pompeu Fabra (UPF), where he has been vice-rector of Economics and International Relations and dean of the School of Economics and Business Science. In 1998 he created the Economics and Health Research Centre (CRES-UPF), which he directed until 2005. In 2000 he received the Catalan Economics Society Award, in 2001 the Joan Sardà Dexeus Award and in 2008 the Ramon Llull Distinction from the Balearic government. He is a member of the Catalan Royal Academy of Medicine and distinguished member of the Economists’ Society of Catalonia. Former President of the International Health Economics Association and since 2005 a member of the Governing Board of the Spanish Central Bank. He serves on the advisory councils for Health, Economic Recovery and Catalan Research of the Government of Catalonia.
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Manuel Manonelles A political scientist specialised in international relations and human rights, he is Director General for Multilateral and European Affairs of the Catalan Government since June 2014; a position he combines with that of Associated Prof. of International Relations at the University Ramon Llull (Barcelona). Member of the Steering Committee of the Jean Monnet Centre of European Excellence on ‘Intercultural Dialogue, Human Rights and Multi-level Governance’ located at the University of Padua (Italy), he has participated in the work of the Leading Group on Innovative Financing for Development (2009-13) under the coordination of the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and in support of the International Commission Against the Death Penalty (2011-2). He has been special advisor to the Co-chair of the UN High Level Group for the Alliance of Civilizations, as well as director of the Foundation Culture of Peace and the World Forum of Civil Society Networks (known as the Ubuntu Forum). He has been an international electoral observer and supervisor for the OSCE and the EU on many occasions, and has participated in several international intergovernmental and non-governmental processes.
Fèlix Martí Former president of the International Catholic Movement for Intellectual and Cultural Affairs (Pax Romana), from 1975 to 1984; director of the Catalonia magazine (1987-2002), aimed at disseminating the Catalan culture around the world; director of the UNESCO centre of Catalonia (1984 to 2002) and subsequently its honorary president. From 1994 to 2002 he was editor of the Catalan editions of the yearly reports of the Washington-based Worldwatch Institute, L’Estat del món [The State of the World] and Signes vitals [Vital Signs]. He promoted the Declaration on Contributions by Religions to a Culture of Peace, signed by leaders of the great religious traditions in 1994. President of the Linguapax International Institute from 2001 to 2004 and its honorary president thereafter. He published his memoirs Diplomàtic sense estat [Diplomat Without a State], in 2006. His latest book is Déus desconeguts. Viatge iniciàtic a les religions de l’Orient [Unknown Gods. Journey of Initiation Through the Religions of the East], published in 2013. He was awarded the UNESCO Human Rights Medal in 1995 and the Generalitat de Catalunya’s Creu de Sant Jordi in 2002.
Eva Piquer (Barcelona, 1969).Writer and cultural journalist. Works for several newspapers and magazines. Has been a lecturer at the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona and a New York news correspondent. Won the 2002 Josep Pla prize for her novel Una victòria diferent (A Different Victory). Also author of several books, including La noia del temps (The Weather Girl), Alícia al país de la televisió (Alice in Television Land) and No sóc obsessiva, no sóc obsessiva, no sóc obsessiva (I’m Not Obsessive, I’m Not Obsessive, I’m Not Obsessive). Her latest book is called La feina o la vida (Life or work).
Ricard Planas (Girona, 1976). Journalist, art critic and cultural promoter. Studied Philology and the History of Art at the Universitat de Girona. In 1999 he founded the magazine Bonart, dedicated to the contemporary art scene in the Catalan Countries. More recently he created and directed the Catalan art fair INART in 2005 and 2006. Has worked as the curator for exhibitions by important artists such as Arranz-Bravo, Lamazares, Formiguera, Cuixart, Ansesa and Grau-Garriga. Ricard has collaborated with Ona Catalana, Catalunya Ràdio, iCatfm and Onda Rambla radio stations. Has also worked for the Diari de Girona, El Punt and El Mundo newspapers, among others.
Clara Ponsatí Holds a degree in Economics from the Universitat de Barcelona, a Masters in Economics from the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB) and a PhD from the University of Minnesota. She is a research professor and director at Institut d’Anàlisi EconòmicaC.S.I.C., affiliated faculty and research fellow at the Barcelona Graduate School of Economics. She has been senior researcher at C.S.I.C., associate professor and assistant professor at UAB and Postdoctoral research associate at Bell Communications Research, Morristown, NJ. She is a member of the editorial boards of The International Journal of Game Theory and The Review of Economic Design.
Arnau Queralt Holds a degree in Environmental Sciences from the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB) and a Masters in Public Management from ESADE, the UAB and the Universitat Pompeu Fabra. Since October 2011, he has been the director of the Advisory Council for the Sustainable Development of Catalonia (CADS), an advisory body of the Government of Catalonia attached to its Presidential Department. Since October 2012, he has been a member of the Steering Committee of the European Environment and Sustainable Development Advisory Councils (EEAC). From May 2010 to October 2011 he was secretary general of the Cercle Tecnològic de Catalunya Foundation. He has been on the board of the Catalan Association of Environmental Professionals since 2004 and was its president from 2010 to 2012.
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Vicent Sanchis (Valencia, 1961). Holds a degree in Information Sciences from the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. In his career as a journalist it is worth highlighting that he has worked and collaborated on many publications and with numerous publishers; he has been editor and director of El Temps magazine, director of Setze magazine, the Catalan supplement of Cambio 16, and director of the newspapers El Observador and Avui. He has also excelled as a scriptwriter and director on different TV programmes. At present he is president of the editorial board of Avui, and vice-president of Òmnium Cultural. Vicent is also a lecturer in the Faculty of Communication Sciences at Universitat Ramon Llull in Barcelona.
Mònica Terribas (Barcelona, 1968). Holds a BA in Journalism from the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona and a PhD in Philosophy from the University of Stirling (Scotland). She is a lecturer at Universitat Pompeu Fabra. From 2002 to 2008 she presented and subsequently directed the current affairs programme La nit al dia for TV3 (the Catalan public television). From 2008 to 2012 she was Director of TV3 and the following year, the CEO and editor of the newspaper Ara. Since September 2013 she has presented El matí de Catalunya Ràdio, Catalonia’s public service broadcasting flagship current affairs programme.
Montserrat Vendrell (Barcelona, 1964). Has been BIOCAT’s CEO since April 2007. As a cluster organization, BIOCAT’s goals include promoting the development of biotechnology companies and research institutions. Vendrell has been the Chairwoman of CEBR (the Council of European Bioregions) since 2012. She holds a PhD in Biology (Universitat de Barcelona), a Masters in Science Communication (UPF, 1997) and a degree in Business Administration (IESE, PDG-2007). Before BIOCAT she was linked to the Barcelona Science Park, where she held several posts such as Scientific Director (1997-2005) and Deputy Director General (2005-2007). Among other tasks, Dr. Vendrell led the design and implementation of the Park’s Strategic Plan, as well as the organization and management of scientific activities and technological platforms. She was a member of the Steering Committee of the Park’s Biotech Incubator, and in charge of international relations.
Carles Vilarrubí (Barcelona, 1954). Businessman. He is currently Executive Vice-President of Rothschild Spain Investment Bank, specialising in key mergers and takeovers in the financial sector on an international scale. President of CVC Grupo Consejero, an equity and investment advisory firm, with a portfolio of shares in consulting and service companies from the world of communications, the media, marketing, technology and telecommunications. President of Doxa Consulting Group, independent consultants on technology, media and telecommunications, leaders in the sector and with a presence in Spain and Portugal. He is a member of the advisory board of the Catalan confederation Foment del Treball Nacional [National Employment Promotion] and patron of the Fundació Orfeó Català - Palau de la Música. He has also been a member of the governing council of ADENA WWF (World Wild Fund for Nature), and sat on the boards of the Fundación Arte y Tecnología, Fundesco and Fundación Entorno. He is vice-president of F.C Barcelona.
Vicenç Villatoro (Terrassa, 1957). Writer and journalist. Holds a degree in Information Sciences. Former president of the Ramon Trias Fargas Foundation. As a journalist he has worked for numerous organizations. He was the editor of the Avui newspaper from 1993 to 1996 and head of the culture section of TV3. Between 2002 and 2004 was director general of the Catalan Radio and Television Corporation. He has contributed to a range of media companies, such as Avui, El Periódico, El País, El Temps, Catalunya Ràdio and COM ràdio. As a writer he has written a dozen novels. He is the former director of the Institut Ramon Llull.
Francesc de Dalmases (Director) (Barcelona, 1970). Journalist and consultant in humanitarian aid and cooperation and development. Has been president (1999-2006) of the Association of Periodicals in Catalan (APPEC); coordinator for the delegation to the Spanish state of European Bureau for Lesser-Used Languages (1995-1999); coordinator for the third conference of the CONSEU (Conference of European Stateless Nations) (1999); and coordinator for the publication Europa de les Nacions (1993-1999). Has acted as a foreign expert in aid projects in such diverse locations as Afghanistan, Pakistan, Mongolia, Kosovo, Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Mexico, Guatemala and Morocco. He is a member of the Cooperation Council of the Catalan government. He recently (2011) joined Barcelona’s Council’s Aid Commitee and is a board member of the Federation of Internationally Recognized Catalan Organizations.
Víctor Terradellas (Editor) (Reus, 1962). Entrepreneur and political and cultural activist. President and founder of Fundació CATmón. Editor of Catalan International View and ONGC, a magazine dedicated to political thought, solidarity, aid and international relations. Víctor has always been involved in political and social activism, both nationally and internationally. The driving force behind the Plataforma per la Sobirania (The Platform for Self-Determination) as well as being responsible for significant Catalan aid operations and international relations in such diverse locations as Peru, Bolivia, Chile, Argentina, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Albania, Afghanistan, Mongolia, Pakistan and Kurdistan. Currently he is General Secretary of International Relations for the Convergència Democràtica de Catalunya party.
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