The constitutional convulsions tearing apart Catalonia and Spain are most distressing. They are another sign of the fractious malaise eating away at the democratic systems in place. They are testimony to the rising tide in knee-jerk nationalist responses and posturing, irrespective of whether they are produced at state or regional level. These convulsions and contractions are occurring within a European Union that for a significant period of time has no longer embodied the hopes for a...