States Without Borders episode artwork

EPISODE · Feb 2, 2026 · 13 MIN

States Without Borders

from The Round Room · host The Round Room at Emerson College

In this episode of The Round Room, we examine stateless nations and what independence movements reveal about identity, sovereignty, and power in global politics. Through case studies on Catalonia, Scotland, and Quebec, we explore how history, culture, and political conflict shape demands for self-determination, from Catalonia’s independence push and Scotland’s post-Brexit debates to Quebec’s language-based movement and Indigenous perspectives.We would love to thank our writing team who put together the script for this episode: Audrey Collison, Valeria Guerrero, and Nathan Igoe. And, of course, we'd love to thank our sound editor Colten Gottlob.To keep up with podcast updates, please follow @theroundroompod on Instagram.Sources:Catalonia:https://www.britannica.com/place/Cataloniahttps://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-41584864https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-29478415Scotlandhttps://www.thoughtco.com/scotland-is-not-an-independent-country-1435433  https://www.open.edu/openlearn/mod/oucontent/view.php?id=68996&section=1 https://www.nowscotland.scot/why_independence https://commonslibrary.parliament.uk/research-briefings/rp14-50/ Quebechttps://www.believeinscotland.org/why-quebecs-independence-dream-went-wrong-lessons-for-scotland  

In this episode of The Round Room, we examine stateless nations and what independence movements reveal about identity, sovereignty, and power in global politics. Through case studies on Catalonia, Scotland, and Quebec, we explore how history, culture, and political conflict shape demands for self-determination, from Catalonia’s independence push and Scotland’s post-Brexit debates to Quebec’s language-based movement and Indigenous perspectives.We would love to thank our writing team who put together the script for this episode: Audrey Collison, Valeria Guerrero, and Nathan Igoe. And, of course, we'd love to thank our sound editor Colten Gottlob.To keep up with podcast updates, please follow @theroundroompod on Instagram.Sources:Catalonia:https://www.britannica.com/place/Cataloniahttps://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-41584864https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-29478415Scotlandhttps://www.thoughtco.com/scotland-is-not-an-independent-country-1435433  https://www.open.edu/openlearn/mod/oucontent/view.php?id=68996&section=1 https://www.nowscotland.scot/why_independence https://commonslibrary.parliament.uk/research-briefings/rp14-50/ Quebechttps://www.believeinscotland.org/why-quebecs-independence-dream-went-wrong-lessons-for-scotland

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States Without Borders

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In this episode of The Round Room, we examine stateless nations and what independence movements reveal about identity, sovereignty, and power in global politics. Through case studies on Catalonia, Scotland, and Quebec, we explore how history,...

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