Everybody in Europe is talking about Catalonia, chiefly because everyone is staring into the abyss of what could happen in Europe if things go wrong – copycat secessionism.  It looks as though things may go wrong.  There is a small chance for sanity, and it involves both sides stepping back and pulling away from fire-breathing rhetoric. Let's examine at the situation. The secret of the Catalan side is that they may not have had a clear majority vote to secede.  Yes, they claim that 90% voted for secession, but the voter turnout was only 43% of the electorate.  A Spanish court had declared the vote illegal, and those Catalans likely to vote against secession may have stayed home.  Blame part of that low turnout on the Spanish police, but it is still low for a major plebiscite. On major issues, such as independence, it has been the practice of republics to insist on super-majorities of three fifths, two thirds, or three fourths.  While...(Read Full Article)