Separatist tendencies in Europe - case of Catalonia and Padania

This bachelor thesis is devoted to Catalan and Padanian (North Italian) separatism. It aims to analyze and compare separatist tendencies in two European regions - in Catalonia and in the region of so-called Padania on the background of the historical development within their home states. The thesis is a combination of a description and a comparative case study and is divided into two main parts. The theoretical part deals with the definition of the basic terms that are crucial for understanding the issue of separatism and that pervade the whole thesis. After that, the cleavage theory of Stein Rokkan and Seymour Martin Lipset is briefly introduced, especially the centre-periphery cleavage on which the analytic part is based. The analytic part deals with the origin and rise of Catalan and, respectively, Padanian separatism, with an emphasis on the historical development of the analyzed regions, their current position within Spain and Italy, the main factors affecting separatist and nationalist tendencies and the contemporary political representation in both regions. In the final chapter, the obtained data are compared with the aim to find the basic similarities and differences between the separatism in Catalonia and so-called Padania