The Spanish government says the referendum is illegal; the Spanish Constitution declares Spain to be "indivisible." If the referendum vote succeeds, should Spain allow Catalonia to secede? And if the Spanish government forbids it, how should other governments respond?

Protecting Citizens' Rights

The first way to think about these questions is to see which course of action better protects citizens' rights. Suppose first that the Catalan government will be roughly as respectful of citizens' rights and liberties as the Spanish government is. (Independentists argue that it will be more respectful; unionists dispute this.) In that case, we can focus narrowly on the right to live under a government of one's own choosing.