Post by Nachopolis, a Spanish exile in London:
The financial crisis seems to be moving towards new territories. Please read Unrest drags Spain towards buried unpleasant truths.
Its a good introduction on how the crisis may eventually lead to serious security problems in Spain – and open up a new landscape in the development of the financial crisis. From a critical Political Economy view, this is an example of how a financial crisis can impact on security.
I would add that Britain – although nowhere near as deep in crisis as Spain yet – has its own past to worry about when major crisis hits. Although there have been no large-scale conflicts on the UK mainland for a while, we have historically had quite a strong tendency to start them elsewhere.
Equally uncomfortably, the British have historically, like several other large nations in Europe, adhered to a belief in their racial superiority. This has traditionally been less crassly stated than in some of those other countries, but only, because, y’know, it barely needed to be said.
We may not have conflict on the mainland, but we are having a referendum for a break-up of the country.
If we did split, I can’t help but think that, politically at least, I’d rather be north of the border.