Territorial Administration Against Nationalism In The Basque Country

Of all the nationalist movements that have swept the world since the eighteenth century, the Basque cause in northern Spain strikes as exceptionally passionate and complex. Basques, together with other ethnic groups in Spain who demand statehood (most importantly Catalans and Galicians) incited in Spain the question of how to organise and divide government powers in order to adapt to this situation of ethnic plurality. This process was truncated in the 20th century by the political instability that ended with a civil war in 1936 and the successive dictatorship of Francisco Franco. With the transition to democracy after Franco's death came the solution to the question in the form of a territorial model of devolution: the division of Spain in 17 Autonomous Communities (AC) aimed to ensure the inclusion of all national identities under a global Spain.

This model appears, however, not to be enough: nationalist and separatist parties populate the parliament, language differences are still a cause of conflict and discussion today and Basque terrorist group ETA killed 829 people since its formation 1959 till their announcement of the final ceasefire in 2011. The evolution of nationalist struggles since 1978 poses many questions: How efficient is the AC model in satisfying nationalist demands? What has motivated ETA to cease their activity when the territorial model has not changed? What does it mean to be nationalist for the different nationalist parties? Why have the nationalist parties not achieved statehood? How did they become part of Spain in the first place? These and other are the questions that I will attempt to answer in this work in order to analyse as rigorously as possible the level of effectiveness of the Spanish Autonomous Communities model.

This work is formed by four chapters. The introduction outlines the methodology, explains the reasons behind the choice of paradigms and includes a review of the relevant literature, as well as a brief summary of the thesis and a brief historical background on the origins of Basque nationalism. The second chapter explains the main tenets of the Basque nationalist ideology as well as its demands, and gives an overview of the strategies of the main players in the Basque political sphere. The third chapter produces an exhaustive assessment of the effectiveness of the Autonomous Communities model in the Basque Country, contrasting it against criteria such as public opinion and the direction of Basque nationalist policy towards Spain. Finally, the fourth chapter will offer the main findings and results of this investigation.

Methodology

The methodology used in this work has been both of a qualitative and a quantitative nature. On the one hand, there has been an in-depth study of the different paradigms and theories of nationalism, as well as research in both the history of Basque nationalism and the legal framework of the Autonomous Communities model of devolution. On the other hand, the third chapter of the dissertation benefits from exhaustive statistical data analysis, as well as support material collected through primary data in the form of interviews and street-level surveys. This investigation, thus, benefits from a mixture of secondary (existing) and primary data (gathered by the author).

The study of nationalism has several different theoretical approaches that culminate in different paradigms. In the most general sense the discussion is roughly centred between two sides: those in favour of a modernist approach to nationalism and those who are against it, offering a variety of alternative theories. The classical modernist paradigm of nationalism has an approach to nations centred on modernity. Modernist theorists defend that the very concept of nation is fully modern (modern as in pertaining to the modern era of history, starting after the French Revolution), and that the bases on which nations were built are not rooted in history or ancestral traditions, but that nations are a product of modernity themselves. Nations and nationalisms are "social constructs and cultural creations of modernity (.) central to the attempt to control processes of social change." The classical modernist paradigm is based upon the work of scholars such as Kedourie, Gellner and Anderson.

The antithesis to modernist theories of nationalism is the perennialist explanation. As the name suggests, perennialists believe that nations are formed on everlasting links with territory, history, culture and ancestral myths. Instead of being created and used instrumentally by the elites, the nation is perceived as a persistent and immemorial cultural unit, entrenched in an ancient homeland. The whole nation forms an organic whole, not divided into different social groups but a single, variable structure embracing those who share land-related, linguistic or cultural bonds. In Nationalism and Modernism (1998), A. D. Smith puts together a useful table that outlines the main dichotomies between these two approaches:

Table 1: Attributes of the nation according to perennialists and modernists Perennialism Modernism Cultural Community Political Community Immemorial Modern Rooted Created Organic Mechanical Seamless Divided Quality Resource Popular Elite-constructed Ancestrally-based Communication-based

The reader can see how it can be difficult to situate Basque nationalism within one of those two frameworks, since the current Basque Nationalist movement has many components of both. On the one hand, Euskara is one of the most ancient languages in the world (so ancient, in fact, that nobody has been able to trace its origins) and there has been evidence of the Basque people since at least the Roman era. On the other, the Basque nationalist movement did not materialise until the mid eighteenth century, and when it did it was organised by members of the political elites - the most important of which, Sabino Arana, crafted and designed most of what would later become Basque symbols himself. Of course, if one were to ask the Basques, they would place the strongest emphasis on the ancestral roots of the Basque community, however there are strong facts that signal toward the modernist hypothesis. How can this problem be solved?

The answer can be found in the work of the same A. D. Smith, who created a mixed approach he called ethno-symbolism: he agrees that nationalism is a product of modernity, however acknowledging the ancestral historical roots of nations. In other words, it is not nations that are created, but nationalism. Thus, he explains, "modern nationalism is simply the latter politicisation of purely cultural or ethnic sentiments in pre-modern periods." Smith stresses the importance of symbols of a nation with which the members can identify and that differentiate them from others.

It can be now seen why I have chosen to approach Basque nationalism from an ethno-symbolist approach. Smith's framework allows for an understanding of the Basque nation that includes Euskara and Basque ancestral myths of Roman resistance while at the same time acknowledging that Basque nationalism was indeed a product of exogenous factors occurring in the modern era which caused a small number of bourgeois elites to try to revive the Basque values and associate them with newly created symbols. The Basque response to immigration of other such factors will be discussed further ahead in this work. Ethno-symbolism is thus the framework of nationalism that best suits Aranism (Sabino Arana's doctrine of Basque ideals) and from which the most reliable explanations for Basque resistance during the Franco years can be deducted.

Literature Review

The literature that has been analysed for this wok can be roughly classified in two categories. The first one is formed by the content dealing with the legal framework of the Autonomous Communities model, the Origins and theory of Basque nationalism and its theoretical contextualisation. The second is formed by literature analysing the evolution of Basque nationalism after 1939, and its integration with Spanish democracy after 1975.

The literature concerning the 1978 Autonomous Communities model and its origins and workings comes to a small disagreement regarding the nature of the model. Spanish authors such as Herrero y Rodríguez de Miñón (1998), Núñez (1999) and Subirats (2005) regard the autonomous model as being based in a regional dimension, noting that, within the autonomical framework the State is still the central and most important administrative unit. This view seems to be contested by authors that are not Spanish, who just seem to regard the model as a "weak" federal framework, concluding that "Spain ultimately became in effect a federal-type state, with the powers of the regions being institutionally copper-fastened." These views can be found in the work of Coakley (1993) or Flynn (2004).

Most of the literature relating to the Basque ideology and theories of Basque nationalism approaches the question from the aforementioned ethno-symbolist perspective. There seems to be a consensus about this issue, which further justifies my choice of using this framework to approach the question. Examples are Conversi (1997), Keating (2001) or Amersfoort et al, (2000).

Finally, it is interesting to note how the Basque nationalism has been contextualised in the comparative literature. Using Schemerhorn's five categories of subordinate ethnic groups, the Basques can be classified as victims of annexation. Even though they were not effectively annexed by the Spanish Crown (but rather offered to join - an offer that they accepted under condition of conserving some degree of administrative autonomy), the removal of their administrative autonomy laws (fueros) made their belonging to Spain illegitimate, thus allowing for this classification. Using Coakley's model of relationships between ethnic groups and ethnic territories, the Basques can be classified as type IV - Strong. This implies that being a locally strong ad territorially concentrated ethnic group the power that the Basque community has over its own citizens is of a considerable vehemence.

PART 2 OF LIT REVIEW

Initial hypothesis

Having analysed all the relevant literature, I am now in a position to make an initial hypothesis for this question. I believe that the Spanish model of autonomous communities is not strong enough to accommodate nationalist demands due to a number of reasons. Firstly, in the referendum that preceded the approval of the constitution the Basques voted against the autonomous communities model. Secondly, the degree of administrative autonomy that this model grants the Basque country is not equivalent to the original fueros, and does not take into account that the Basque nationalist movement has greatly increased Basque aspirations since the last fueros were removed in 1876. Thirdly, that the classification of Basques as a considerably strong ethnic group means the amount of power they claim is less than the model allows. Further analysis will help to prove or disprove this hypothesis.

Origins and historical context of Basque Nationalism

In order to understand the forces that drive Basque nationalism it is important to first understand its historical context. The Basque territories were gradually incorporated into Spain in the fourteenth century. Being of distinctly different origins than the rest of their peninsular counterparts, the Basque regions (Álava, Guipuzkoa and Biscay) and the nearby region of Navarre, as well as the Crown of Aragon (comprising modern Aragon, Catalonia, Valencia and the Balearic Islands) were granted fueros: a set of special laws that allowed the regions a certain degree of administrative autonomy.

With the demise of absolute monarchy in Spain (a process that happened between 1812 and 1836) came the adoption of a centralised governmental scheme, which meant the loss of the privileged fueros for the Basques and the Navarrese. The territories belonging to the former Crown of Aragon had lost their privileges in 1707, as a punishment for not supporting Phillip of Anjou (later Phillip V of Spain) during the succession war. The death of Ferdinand VII in 1833 caused no less than three civil wars between the supporters of two contenders to the throne: Ferdinand's daughter Isabella (whose victory would mean the triumph of the liberal model) against Ferdinand's brother Carlos, who vouched for a return to the traditions and who had earned the Basque support by promising to re-establish their fueros.

Conversi has pointed out that the Carlist wars might have been the first signal of a Basque struggle for independence, taking into account that the wars were almost fought entirely in the Basque territory. Indeed, it was the first time in the modern era that Basques fought together for interests regarding their people and their territory. The wars, however, ended with the defeat of Carlos and subsequent enthronement of Isabella as Isabella II. Following the tradition of Phillip V, Isabella's government punished the Basques for supporting Carlos with the definitive abolition of fueros in 1876.

It was after the abolition of fueros and the end of the civil wars that the Basque industry was finally allowed to bloom. This fast industrialisation saw the arrival to the Basque lands of hordes of immigrants from other agricultural regions of Spain still focused on agriculture. It was a member of a Basque industrialist family, the aforementioned Sabino Arana Goiri, who would found the Basque Nationalist Party (PNV) in 1895. It was the end of a large personal quest to bring together the Basque Nation, and the start of a long struggle for institutional autonomy.

The fueros were not reinstated till 1936, by the administration of the Second Spanish Republic. 1936, however was the year in which the revolt lead by General Francisco Franco took place. This revolt culminated in a harsh civil war, which ended with the victory of Franco's National faction in 1939. Franco would never forgive the Basque affiliation with the republican faction, and started a terror-based anti-nationalist campaign to eradicate all the aspects of the Basque culture and 'castilianise' the Basques. These anti-Basque measures were harshest during the decades of 1940-50, where eve speaking Euskera on the streets was considered a crime. The strong grip on the Basque country was gradually relaxed in the subsequent years, however the Basque pleas for administrative autonomy were never successful.

The Spanish political panorama changed radically with the death of Franco in 1975. Even though he had appointed King Juan Carlos II to succeed him in ruling the country, it was decided that the best course of action would be a transition to democracy. The return of democracy of course brought back the question of whether to grant some degree of administrative autonomy to the regions that had this tradition (namely: Basques, Navarrese, Catalans and Galicians). The solution that was adopted and made official in the constitution of 1978 is the Autonomous Communities model, the analysis of which forms one of the central points of this work.

As its name suggests, the Autonomous Communities model divided Spain in 17 Autonomous communities: the aforementioned regions that had had a "traditional" right to self-determination and some others that had been more dependent of Castilian central powers. Some of the regions were determined according to historical territory (e.g. Andalusia) and some others were created apparently arbitrarily (as is the case of La Rioja or the creation of a separate AC for Madrid, an area traditionally linked to Castile). What the model suggested for these communities was the same degree of institutional autonomy: an approach that was described as café para todos (coffee for everyone), since it granted autonomy even to those regions who had not asked for it nor had a standing tradition of self-governance.

Thus, the second article of the Constitution "recognises and guarantees the right of autonomy of all nationalities and regions that conform it." Its main legal framework is based on each community's statute of autonomy, which defines the community's autonomy and serves as a de facto constitution for each autonomous community. The Statute also describes which competencies will be given to the Autonomic Government and which will be based in Madrid. Each autonomous community has its own legislative assembly, who will elect a president to lead the government council, and its own courts of justice. Each autonomous community therefore functions as a nearly independent state, which has caused some authors to claim that the Spanish model of autonomies is not at all different from a federal model such as Belgium's: "Spain has overcome the limitations of the State of Autonomies (.) and become federal."

In this chapter I have attempted to explain my methodology and the choice of an ethno-symbolist approach, as well as give an account of the relevant literature and a brief historical background of Basque nationalism and the Autonomous Communities model. As we have seen, The Basque nation is better understood as rooted in its historical language and traditions, while Basque nationalism and symbols can be seen as arising in the industrial era. The Basque history is one of a continuous struggle with the Spanish State for the institutional autonomy. Has the model of Autonomous Communities reached a stable solution? And, most importanty, are the Basques satisfied with the degree of autonomy allocated to them? These are the questions that shall be analysed in the following chapters.