When Governments Collide

Competition Within Nations in Quebec and Catalonia
1. Auflage 2026
ISBN: 978-1-041-02448-4
Verlag: Taylor & Francis Ltd

Buch, Englisch, 152 Seiten, Format (B × H): 138 mm x 216 mm, Gewicht: 453 g

Reihe: Routledge Studies in Federalism and Decentralization

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

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

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

Zielgruppe

Academic, Postgraduate, and Undergraduate Advanced

Autoren/Hrsg.

Couture Gagnon, Alexandre

Fachgebiete

• Sozialwissenschaften Politikwissenschaft Politikwissenschaft Allgemein Politische Studien zu einzelnen Ländern und Gebieten
• Interdisziplinäres Wissenschaften Wissenschaft und Gesellschaft | Kulturwissenschaften Kulturpolitik, Kulturmanagement
• Sozialwissenschaften Politikwissenschaft Regierungspolitik Kultur-, Wissenschafts- & Technologiepolitik
• Sozialwissenschaften Politikwissenschaft Politische Systeme Kommunal-, Regional-, und Landespolitik

Inhaltsverzeichnis

Chapter 1: Why study Québec and Catalonia?  Chapter 2: External factors that affected the success of Québec vs. Catalonia  Chapter 3: The core of the minority nation: linguistic policy in Québec and Catalonia  Chapter 4: The future of the minority nation: immigration policy in Québec and Catalonia  Chapter 5: The prestige of the minority nation: foreign relations policy in Québec and Catalonia  Chapter 6: How do minority nations gain more power: Incrementalism

Über Autor(innen)

Alexandre Couture Gagnon is an associate professor at the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley, USA. Her expertise includes comparative public policy, minority nations and linguistic policy.