Geopolitics: 3 scenarios for Spain

Geopolitics is the science which brings together political geography, regional studies and history, in order to study political events and its effects on the territory.

These are three examples of the destiny of Spain (actually Europe as a whole, but I will focus on my country).

In his work “L’Europe au XXe siècle”, Henri Don assumes that future Europe will be less chaotic thant it was during his time (which was proved not to be that way) and design a group of states (or macrostates) which will remain stable (which was also proved not to be that way).

In this case, Spain and Portugal are (re)unified and named “Spaind”, but establishing the capital in Lisbon.

This second map was produced by Leopold Kohr and is found in its book “The Breakdown of Nations” (1957). Kohr proposed dividing Europe into several little states. A division USA-like (following meridians and parallels) would have been too traumatic, so he decided to do it following ethnics differences. The whole would work as an Europead federation of little states.

Spain is dividied in 5 states: Asturias (Asturias, Cantabria, Galicia, León and Burgos), Castilla (the rest of Castilla y León, Castilla-La Mancha, Extremadura, Madrid, the south half of Aragón, Comunidad Valenciana, La Rioja and Murcia), Andalucía, Aragón (the northern half of Aragón, Basque Country -both the Spanish and the French one- and Navarra) and Catalonia (Catalonia and a bit of Aragón). (Note: The Balearics seem a sixth state).

In 1992, and inspired by Kohr, Freddy Heineken publishes the leaflet ”The United States of Europe, a Eurotopia?”. Heineken also suggests the fragmentation of Europe in little states with a population between 5 and 10 million inhabitants each.

Spain is this time divided into six bits: Catalonia (together with a bit of Aragón), Comunidad Valenciana, Murcia and the Balearics as another state; the two Castillas, Madrid and La Rioja; Cantabria, Asturias and Galicia; Aragón, the Basque Country and Navarra as another state; and finalley, Andalucía and Extremadura.