The Catalan crisis is about politics, not constitutional law - and it requires a political solution

The Spanish government regards the planned Catalan independence referendum as being unconstitutional, but supporters of the referendum have argued that Catalonia should have a legal right to hold the vote. Domenico Giannino states that although both sides have made legal arguments, it is a situation that can only be solved by political negotiations. The crisis also demonstrates a wider process under which national authorities are increasingly finding their powers constrained by the actions of both supranational and subnational actors.