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On the influence of the electoral system in the political conflict in Catalonia and its reform as a tool for mitigation

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  • Ricardo Alvira
Ricardo Alvira
University of Murcia
DOI: https://doi.org/10.36253/qoe-18602

Published 2026-03-26

Keywords

  • Democracy,
  • Nationalism,
  • Catalonia,
  • Spain,
  • Electoral System,
  • Ideological Congruence,
  • Ideological Polarization
    • ...More
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How to Cite

Alvira, R. (2026). On the influence of the electoral system in the political conflict in Catalonia and its reform as a tool for mitigation . Italian Journal of Electoral Studies (IJES). https://doi.org/10.36253/qoe-18602

Copyright (c) 2026 Ricardo Alvira

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Abstract

Since the Spanish Constitution was approved in 1978, several politicians and public figures in Catalonia have challenged Catalonia’s position within the Spanish state, asserting the need to move towards greater self-government and even independence. This demand has led to constant negotiations between the Catalan government institutions, almost always in the hands of Catalan nationalist parties since 1978, and the central government. The increase in the negotiating power of Catalan nationalist parties since 1993, when they became pivotal in electing the Spanish government, led to a notable and growing increase in Catalonia’s autonomy. Nevertheless, this progressive autonomy has also faced criticism from other Spanish regions, as well as from within Catalonia itself, particularly from those who maintain that Catalonia should remain integrated within the Spanish state under conditions comparable to those of the other regions. This clash of positions led to extreme ideological polarization
at the end of the 2010-2020 decade, which persists in a somewhat attenuated form today, with the potential to resurface given that its causes have not been resolved. This article summarizes the different positions on the conflict, showing that many of them are related to the majoritarian design of the political system, with the electoral system being particularly relevant. This suggests that reforming the electoral system could be a way to mitigate the conflict. To test this hypothesis, the parliaments created in the 2012-2017 regional elections by the current electoral system are compared with those
that would have been produced, under certain assumptions, by six alternative electoral designs. The results confirm that the current majoritarian model is contributing to the conflict, and that alternative electoral system designs could significantly reduce ideological polarization. The results of this study could be applicable in multiple contexts in Europe to mitigate the increasing ideological polarization.

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