But the imprisonment of two pro-Catalan independence leaders earlier this week indicates we are heading for serious trouble.

    What is important to understand now is that there is more than just blind nationalism in the Catalan impasse,

    despite what Madrid and Brussels want us to believe.

    The Catalan call for independence should not be discredited; it is the rightful demand of millions of Catalans. But one must wonder why most articles about this crisis focus exclusively on the historical roots of Catalonian statehood, free citizens’ democratic right to vote, and the inclusive character of Catalonia’s nationalism, which is open to foreigners.

    As noble as these historical and democratic arguments are, it is important to emphasise, as Owen Jones rightly pointed out, that „Catalonia cannot be understood in isolation. Here is another manifestation of the crisis enveloping the western world”. This is

    a crisis of governance in which citizens no longer trust their governments

    and governments have turned their backs on the people. Why?

Santiago Zabala „The Catalan crisis is not just about nationalism”