Latin America: The Region without Catalonia

Tomasz Rudowski; Piotr Sieniawski

doi:10.18778/1641-4233.25.07

Authors

Tomasz Rudowski University of Warsaw / Vistula University, Institute of Iberian and Ibero-American Studies / School of Foreign Languages https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8723-3058
Piotr Sieniawski Cardinal Stefan Wyszyński University in Warsaw, Institute of Political Science and Administration, Department of International Relations and European Studies https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4654-7170

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.18778/1641-4233.25.07

Keywords:

Latin America, Separatism, Secession, Catalonia, The South is My Country, O Sul é o Meu País

Abstract

The aim of this article is to analyse the issue of “weak separatism” in Latin America as well as to give an answer to the question why there are no significant separatist movements in this region. The authors provide the definitions of separatism and secessionism as well as an explanation of these phenomena. Moreover, they present an overview of historical and contemporary separatist movements in Latin America. Based on Horowitz’s theory of ethnic separatism, the authors attempt to analyse the separatist movement “The South is My Country” in Brazil and compare it with separatism in Catalonia in Spain, where a referendum on independence from Spain was held in 2017, serving as an impetus for a similar referendum that took place in the South of Brazil. In spite of similar goals of these two separatist movements, the authors argue that there are significant differences in their nature, which are determined by the history and culture of the respective countries.

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Author Biographies

Tomasz Rudowski, University of Warsaw / Vistula University, Institute of Iberian and Ibero-American Studies / School of Foreign Languages

Tomasz Rudowski – Ph.D, a political scientist with a strong focus on Latin America. He holds a Bachelor’s and a Master’s in International Relations from the Institute of International Relations, University of Warsaw, as well as a Master’s in Cultural Studies from American Studies Center, University of Warsaw. During his studies, he participated in an exchange programme at the Autonomous University of Madrid and in a research stay in Mexico within the Mexican Government Scholarship Programme. He also did an internship at the University of Amsterdam in 2016. His research is focused on socio-economical development, economic history as well as on international relations of Latin American countries and the Caribbean.

Piotr Sieniawski, Cardinal Stefan Wyszyński University in Warsaw, Institute of Political Science and Administration, Department of International Relations and European Studies

Piotr Sieniawski – Ph.D. candidate at the Institute of Political Science and Administration, Cardinal Stefan Wyszyński University in Warsaw. He graduated from International Relations as well as Law, and completed traineeships in the National Council of the Slovak Republic, in the German Bundestag and in the European Commission. Alumnus of the Hague Academy of International Law. His research interests cover ethnic separatism, secessionism, de facto regimes as well as international law of armed conflicts. From 2018 to 2019, he was a visiting researcher at Ilia State University in Tbilisi, Georgia.

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