Ethnicity and Violence The Case of Radical Basque Nationalism

Euskadi Ta Askatusana (ETA) was once considered a sophisticated and dangerous violent organization presenting a major threat to the police, judges, politicians, and other public figures through its campaign of urban violence, extortion, kidnapping, and assassinations. The armed group was severely weakened by concerted counter-terrorist actions of the French and Spanish authorities and by the emerging consensus following the Al Quaeda attacks of September 11, 2001 and March 11, 2004 that indiscriminate violence was becoming anachronistic in resolving an essentially territorial dispute.The refusal of radical nationalists to abandon their violent subculture and embrace democratic institutions is part of the problem as the political movement led by ETA continues to organize their supporters on fronts beyond the political one. Radical nationalists are mobilized by a shared frame of reference where ethnicity and violence are intertwined in a nostalgic recreation of a golden age and a quasi-religions imperative to restore that distant past.Dr. Diego Muro provides a genealogy of radical Basque nationalism and the means by which this complex, often violent, political movement has reinforced Basque identity. The monograph examines the origins of the ethno-nationalist conflict and provides a comprehensive examination of ETA's violent campaign. The book analyses the interplay of ethnicity and violence and stresses the role of inherited myths, memories and cultural symbols to explain the ability of radical Basque nationalism to endure.Muro, Diego is the author of 'Ethnicity and Violence The Case of Radical Basque Nationalism', published 2007 under ISBN 9780415390668 and ISBN 0415390664.