State Repression of Pro-independence Mobilizations: The Case of Catalonia

The chapter aims to fill a gap in the studies on criminalization of dissent and protest, exploring the case of the Catalan movement for independence and self-determination in Spain, with a focus on cycles of protest and State repression before and, above all, after the referendum of October 1, 2017. The chapter is based on ethnographic research I carried out for about five years, in different periods. I focus mostly on the features of the Catalan mobilization, its strong grassroots characteristics and the complex apparatus of criminalization and repression deployed by the Spanish state against grassroots activists and social and political leaders of the Catalan movement. The case shows both continuities and novelties when compared with other processes of criminalization and repression in both authoritarian and democratic contexts.