The Catalan push for independence from Spain appears to be part of a larger European -- and possibly worldwide -- movement away from larger, more distant governance and toward more local control. Elsewhere in Europe, the old order is slowly breaking down. New parties...

The US was strongly opposed to Monday's independence referendum in Iraqi Kurdistan, as were the countries in the region. The US wanted to manage the Kurds' relationship with Baghdad, but it did not work out the way Washington's planners hoped. How did we get to the...