| dc.description.abstract | In an ever-evolving globalized society, international organizations have become more powerful on a global scale. The growing power of global governance has caused increased complexity in its relationship with the nation-state. The role of national sovereignty in relation to secessionist movements, such as the Catalan Independence Movement in Spain, is a primary example of these evolving relationships of power, as the European Union provides an aspect of global governance to the equation. In the context of the Catalan Independence Movement, specifically between 2017 and 2018, the relationships between the nation-state, a secessionist state, and an international organization are demonstrated in exceedingly complex and interconnected ways. This thesis explores the relational shifts in this situation and analyzes the challenges the nation-state’s sovereignty faces when internal and external political entities become increasingly involved with each other through a political, sociological, and legal analytical framework. This thesis moves away from analyzing globalization as a new phenomenon and instead considers the way it particularly affects power relationships across distances and beyond physical borders. John Allen’s Topologies of Power provides the theoretical framework to understand the ways political power can be extended across traditional borders and territories. In particular, my analysis draws on Allen’s ideas of topological reach, as well as a quiet exercise of power. Both ideas effectively describe the way the European Union exercises its power in its relationships with its members. Through the lens of Allen, this thesis addresses three major points. First, the effects of the presence of an international organization in a conflict within a single-nation state on the nation-state’s sovereignty and the power relationships between the actors involved. Second, the manner in which the growing relevance of international organizations transforms the way national sovereignty is both exercised and internally challenged. And third, the way this transformation of power has created a paradoxical interconnectedness and reliance on one another between the European Union, Spain, and Catalonia. By confronting the topic of power relationships from multiple angles, overall, this thesis demonstrates the complexity of the interactions between international, national, and regional actors during a time of high uncertainty and tension. | en |
