Basque Identity Research Articles

Meanings of Basqueness: An Account from Brandomian Inferentialism on Basque Identity and Its Evolution

ABSTRACT In this paper, I will analyze how the conceptualization of the term ‘Basqueness’, and the meaning of ‘being Basque’, have been instrumental in determining the way in which citizens of the Basque Autonomous Community (BAC) have chosen to identify themselves. What it means to be Basque has experienced a significant evolution from its ethnic and linguistic origins to being a matter of feeling and doing; however, the way Basque citizens felt about Basqueness, and what actions participated in Basqueness, was substantially influenced by the climate of political polarization, the appropriation by nationalism of Basque symbols and features and the violence of terrorist organization ETA, as well as the justification of its crimes. Working from the semantic theory of Brandomian inferentialism, I want to show how these factors functioned as inferential relations that constituted the meaning of Basqueness. As these inferences changed with the dissolution of ETA and the easing of political polarization, what it means to be Basque has subsequently changed its meaning, which might contribute to explaining why in recent years an increasing number of people in the BAC have incorporated Basqueness into their mixed or liminal identities.

Hand in hand: Consuming symbols, language and identity in post‐ETA Basque society

AbstractThis study examines the evolution of ethnic symbol consumption in the Basque Country following the end of ETA's violent activities in 2011. It delves into the shifting political and cultural context of the Basque provinces during this period, underscoring the impact that terrorism and its cessation have had on creating distinct patterns of cultural consumption. The focus then turns towards the case of the ‘Hand of Irulegi’, an Iron Age relic discovered in 2022 that allegedly contains the oldest inscription in an ancestor of Euskera—the Basque language. The paper argues that the rapid adoption of the Hand of Irulegi by Basque society as an ethnic symbol is directly related to transformations in the conception of Basque identity in the aftermath of ETA's dissolution. These transformations include, mainly, the intentional forgetting of recent historical events by a large segment of Basque citizens and the emergence of Euskera as the main fulcrum of contemporary Basque cultural identity. The Hand, due to its chronological remoteness and its exclusive association with the Basque language, seems to be custom‐made to serve as a symbol for this new type of identification.

Basque Identity in the 21st Century

A dynamic conception of identity is not about asserting traits or searching for primordial essences but about the processes and contexts of its dynamic and living production including its social futures. Looking forward to contributing to Basque Studies this article offers an analysis of the complexities of contemporary reconfigurations of identification processes by focusing on the problem of Basque identity in the 21st century. I propose an approach not linked to the "Homeland/Diaspora" model but rather to a form of multifaceted and trans-local dynamics that arises from interaction with multiple places and contexts of cultural production and collective identification. The analysis pivots around a case study concerning a family of five, who emigrated to Argentina in 1973 and returned to the Basque Country 30 years later. The essay belongs to a wider anthropological project about the everyday production of national values and contemporary forms of Basqueness beyond ethnicity both in Argentina and the Southern-Spanish Basque Country.

On shifting sands: Exploring the role of the third space in new Basque cinema’s Pikadero and Oreina

Cinema is a powerful tool for depicting and critically addressing the dual nature of identity (composed of both individual and social traits). This article analyses two underrated titles of the post-2005 wave of Basque-language cinema: Pikadero (Sharrock 2015) and Oreina (The Deer) (Almandoz 2018). In both films, certain liminal third spaces – the ‘non-places’ coined by Augé and the ‘in-between’ spaces formulated by Bhabha – seem to interact with the misfit characters, who live between rootedness and lack of belonging within a new social context created by the influx of migrants and the economic crisis in the Basque Country. The article argues that these on-screen third spaces (mainly the railway station and the peripheral marshlands in Pikadero and The Deer, respectively) become a kind of resilient deuteragonist in their own right, i.e. witnesses or accomplices to the protagonists’ wanderings and their shallow and fleeting relationships. There is, however, a difference between the non-places featured in Pikadero, which mainly evoke solitude and similarity, and those in-between spaces present in The Deer. The latter appear as metaphorical hybrid places that can harbour otherness and foster collective solidarity, thus playing a role in shaping the new centrality of Basque identity.

The use of Basque as a language for scientific dissemination: scholars’ practices and beliefs

ABSTRACT English has become the main lingua franca for scientific dissemination. Its hegemony contrasts with the scarce presence of minority languages such as Basque in academic publications. Its presence, in addition to having a short trajectory, has not yet been studied. This paper aims to identify the reasons for publishing or not publishing in the Basque language. We carried out a study of the opinions of 301 researchers in the area of Humanities and Social Sciences. The opinions were analysed through a lexical analysis using the Reinert method. The results revealed that the reasons for not publishing in Basque were the ease of publishing in English or Spanish in contrast to the difficulty of publishing in Basque, the limited impact of journals in Basque, and the fact that the scientific community does not accord these journals sufficient value or recognition. However, the participants’ reasons for publishing were a desire to create content for the Basque scientific community and a rootedness in the Basque identity itself. The results are of interest in the context of advancing the normalisation of the Basque language in the academic field.

Counteracting Epistemic Oppression Through Social Myths: The Last Indigenous Peoples of Europe

ABSTRACT Epistemic social oppressions such as ‘epistemic partiality’, ‘epistemic injustice’, ‘epistemic harms and wrongs’, ‘epistemic oppression’, ‘epistemic exploitation’, ‘epistemic violence’, or ‘epistemicide’ are terms with increasing theoretical importance and empirical applications. However, less literature is devoted to social strategies to overcome such oppressions. Here the Sorelian and Gramscian concept of social myth is considered in that sense. The empirical case is the myth of ‘The last Indigenous peoples of Europe’ present in the Basque Country, divided between France and Spain and with a historical national culture under their statist powers. The myth has a renewal in a recent social movement, the Biltzarre platform and its Basque Cultural Instinct Team, currently followed through a Participatory Action Research. The results show how such social myth gives coherence and empowers the Basque identity against the loss of identity caused by the French and Spanish powers. Finally, progress is being made on how epistemic oppressons can end, ironically, because of the success of an epistemicide. Presumably, social myths counteract epistemic oppression, strengthening the social identity and self-esteem of the subject, as a form of empowerment in social and political issues.

The Basque Language (Euskera) As an Ideological Instrument in the Historical Construction of Basque Ethnic Identity

Abstract This paper analyzes how studies of a language and the language itself can be used as symbolic instruments to construct or support a differential ideological identity. The analyses of these studies have allowed us to undertake a sort of “archaeology” of the process of Basque ethnogenesis. All the authors instrumentalized philological studies as a way of expressing and claiming their ethnic identity, building their arguments on the basis of previous works (the “archaeological” layer being immediately underneath) at the same time that they reformulated them in order to better suit their specific conception of Basque identity as well as their particular sociopolitical interests. As if we were looking at a stratigraphic cut of an uninterrupted human settlement, the research unravels the existence of a narrative thread that, stratum upon stratum (that is, author upon author) connects the Basque chroniclers of the 16th to 18th centuries with the romantic fuerista writers of the 19th century, as well as Sabino de Arana-Goiri, the founder of the contemporary Basque Nationalist Party.

Political Choice in the Basque Country, Spain: The Importance of Psychosocial Dimensions

We analyzed psychosocial influences on political life in the Basque Country according to Doise’s theory on the articulation between the individual, the interindividual, groups, and society. Political-party experiences and evaluations of system legitimacy during elections (local, regional, general, and European) were considered. Party choice was linked to atheism and without-religion among Spanish progressive voters (Podemos); Christianity to Basque conservative nationalism (PNV); Basque identity to Basque progressive nationalism (EH-Bildu); and Spanish identity to conservativism (PP). On the whole, Basque parties’ voters stressed more economy/administration and politicians’ individual traits, while Spanish party voters focused more on civil/social rights.

Basque nationalists in Navarre: a long road to success

The aim of the article is to examine the reasons for the Basque nationalists’ improving electoral performance in Navarre in the late 2000–2010s. The author identifies the main stages of the historical development of Basque nationalism in Navarre and its confrontation with various forms of local regionalism (Fuerism, Carlism, and Navarrism) from the beginning of the 20th century up to the present, as well as the features of its evolution in comparison with the evolution of nationalism in other Basque territories. The analysis of electoral statistics and opinion polls shows that, in the post-Franco period, the traditional centrist and Catholic version of Basque nationalism, represented by the Basque Nationalist Party, was pushed back by its left and secular version (“Herri Batasuna”, “Batzarre”, “Aralar”, etc.) and that, in the last decade, Basque nationalists managed to significantly expand their influence among social groups that do not favour separatist claims and do not share nationalist feelings. On the one hand, the success of this expansion was due to the new electoral tactics of the Basque nationalists (formation of two coalitions – left and center-left), and, on the other, to the growing discontent of voters towards the central and regional authorities in the context of the financial crisis of 2008 – 2014 and the gradual increase in the popularity of the Basque language and strengthening of the Basque identity in Navarre. The rising separatist movement in Navarre, together with the growing popularity of secessionism in Galicia, threatens to increase the number of separatist-leaning regions in Spain and poses a serious challenge to the Spanish “State of Autonomous Communities.”

Uncomfortable Memories and Non-Heritages: The Archaeology of Counter-Revolution and the Carlist Wars in the Basque Country

The development of historical archaeology in the Iberian Peninsula has opened new and stimulating avenues of research into its most recent times. One of these has been the archaeology of the Carlist Wars, a series of nineteenth-century conflicts related to the overarching process of the emergence of liberal governments in Europe and, contemporarily, of counter-revolutionary movements. This paper will describe recent excavations at Carlist sites in the southern part of the Basque Country in order to tackle two interrelated questions: the limits and possibilities of a Carlist archaeology and the close connection of the specific materialities of these events and the politics of memory surrounding them. It is argued that the Carlist War materiality has not been considered in the process of the construction of the Basque heritage because these conflicts are not introduced into the legitimating narratives of the failed-state formation project of the Basque identity.

From Francoism to franchise: Basque identity as a socio-technical network

ABSTRACT This article proposes a new approach to the study of political identities, one that goes beyond essentialist readings or those conditioned by the contentious paradigm of identity politics. From this new perspective, based on the principle of identity innovation, it is no longer relevant to ask, ontologically, what something or someone is, but instead to enquire, pragmatically, about how identity works, that is, what is done in order to be something or someone. The study focuses on a politically controversial case, identity in the Basque Country (Spain), which is addressed through an analysis of some of the socio-technical systems (following Bruno Latour) that are involved in its production: from audiovisual production to gastronomy, by way of museology and sport. Identity is thus configured not so much as a politico-historical plot, but instead as a network of activities, many of them highly innovative, that can be called the industry of identity.

Terrorist-Turned-Entrepreneur: Basque Masculinities in Fe de etarras

This essay examines representations of masculinity in Fe de etarras (2017), a dark comedy film directed by Borja Cobeaga and written by Cobeaga and Diego San José. This film is groundbreaking in its comedic treatment of the Basque separatist terrorist organization ETA, which permanently dissolved five months after the film's release. This essay situates the film in the context of ETA's disbandment, a turning point in Basque-Spanish relations and Basque cultural production, as well as during Spain's ongoing economic and political crises. Fe de etarras serves as an example of how Spain's post-ETA (Euskadi Ta Askatasuna [Basque Homeland and Freedom]) recessionary culture envisions economic recovery and unification as hinging on a particular masculine ideal. By tracing the protagonist's redemptive arc from ETA terrorist to Madrid-based business owner, this essay shows how the film promotes entrepreneurial Basque masculinity while disposing of the competing warrior ideal that has died out with ETA. In Fe de etarras, the conversion of the obsolete, terrorist holdout into entrepreneur is key to Spain's recovery. This essay links the film's conservative gender politics to its limited reimagining of Basque identity, contending that the film exemplifies how commercial cultural products preserve the status quo during moments of transition.

Translations of Terroir: Constructing and Marketing a Sense of Place in the Basque Country

A distinguishing and authenticating element of Basque culture is created with the use of its language, Euskara. Key words in this non-Indo-European language are commonly sighted to market local products such as milk, wine, and cider to create value and social distinction through linguistic commodification in the promotion of place. Meanwhile, the French word terroir, which has evolved to encompass both the physical and sociocultural changes in the food-producing regions worldwide, has been slowly integrated into global marketing techniques, to include the Basque case. This article aims to show how the concept of terroir in its various engagements has entered the food-producing sectors of milk, wine, and cider in the Basque Country with the hope of creating the same authenticating and identity-making results as it has for their French-speaking neighbors. Here I develop the concept of “linguistic terroir” as a means of framing how such engagement takes place. Specifically, I use research carried out in the Basque Country of Spain to illustrate the circumstances in which the concept of terroir is being employed to market the identity behind local products. In doing so, I provide a lens for examining and understanding key traits in the formation and marketing of Basque identity.

Trees, photos and Basque identity in Asier Altuna’s Amama (When a Tree Falls)

ABSTRACT Asier Altuna’s Amama (When a Tree Falls 2015) is a Basque film that represents important aspects of that society: the dichotomies between rural and urban worlds, the past and the present, parents and children, and their concomitant effects on Basque identity. The departure from the farm by the younger generation threatens a millennial way of life. Amaia, in particular, challenges traditional cultural practices, especially regarding her patriarchal father, and the film manifests the tension between matriarchy and patriarchy in Basque society. Amaia’s photographs and films of her grandmother and other family members speak to a continuity of the Basque family, forming a type of family album; in addition, they show the close relationship between people and trees, and both the photos and the trees manifest the interconnectedness between the local and the universal. The urban/rural dichotomy does not follow that of previous films, and Basque identity is shown in its complexity.

Silence and Invisibility as Weapons of Hegemonic Nationalism in Fernando Aramburu's Patria

Fernando Aramburu�s Patria (2016) has undoubtedly constituted one of the most explosive publishing successes of Spain�s literary market of the recent years. The author depicts Basque nationalism as a flawed product deriving from irrational violent impulses that supposedly lie at the core of the Basque identity, while privileging a hegemonic Castilian nationalism. Aramburu�s perspective, however, is tainted by his geographic and affective distancing from Euskadi, which arises not only from the fact that he has been living in Germany since 1985 but also from his identity as an author who writes only in Spanish. His novel misses the mark, as it consists of a collection of easily digestible stereotypes that do not facilitate a profound understanding of the Basque reality.

From folklore to patriotic and protest songs: Music, youth, and Basque identity during the 1960s

AbstractTaking a bottom‐up approach to the study of nationalism, the following pages constitute an attempt to shed light on the role singing played for a young generation of Basques who actively participated in the process of construction of Basque collective identity during the cultural revival movement of the 1960s. In doing so, this article aims at showing the fundamental role of active audiences, as well as their changing political and social context, in conforming the meaning of “Basque songs” as means to promote Basque nationalism and sustain opposition to the Franco regime. The study of the production, reception, and reinterpretation of Basque music during the cultural revival of the 1960s presented here intends to emphasize the interest of focusing on how ordinary people contribute to the recreation of the nation through their appropriation and interpretation of cultural symbols and practices.

Food sovereignty in place: Cuba and Spain

Attempts to democratize the food system and make it more equitable through food sovereignty take many forms across space. In Cuba, food sovereignty is perceived as the promotion of small-scale farming methods informed by agroecology and permaculture. However, these practices are mediated by discourses of self-sufficiency in the context of the US blockade. Simultaneously, in Basque country, Spain, food sovereignty shapes community-supported agriculture initiatives, farmer union and cooperative-based work, and a deep appreciation for regional foods. In this context, food sovereignty is perceived as part of the struggle to maintain Basque identity and autonomy. In this paper, I discuss how food sovereignty is defined and understood by outside actors who traveled to either Cuba or Basque country to understand how food sovereignty is being practiced in place. As educators, farmers, students, retirees, farmworker organizers, and activists meet in these spaces, I ask how do definitions of food sovereignty differ? I argue that food sovereignty ‘sits in places’ and travelers have difficulty discerning what food sovereignty is when confronted with unfamiliar practices. Findings suggest that such educational tourism is an attempt to create a meaningful space for dialogue about food sovereignty and as a touchstone it offers opportunities for participant discussions, however, understandings of food sovereignty are subject to confusion and alternate conceptions and thus, do not always travel well.

Goazen mendira! (Let’s go to the mountains!). Hill walking and Basque identity

Abstract The aim of this article is to discuss the ideological function of mountain landscape in the Basque nationalism and the importance of sport, especially mountain sports and activities, in the process of creating, reproducing and transmitting Basque identity. It includes an outline of the history of the Basque presence in the mountains, as well as the political dimension of hiking in the mountains and conquering mountain peaks. The question of the relationship between language, identity and the lifestyle of the individual and the family is analyzed, too. The text concludes that a mountain was an important space for celebration of Basque identity and even sometimes is considered the symbol of the Basque culture. The article is based on the author’s field research in the Basque Autonomous Community (observations, interviews, analysis of documents). This study advances our understanding of the nature of Basque nationalism and identity.

Ethnogenesis in the Pyrenees: The Contentious Making of a National Identity in the Basque Country (1643–2017)

Focusing on the Basque case study, this article adopts a historical longue-durée perspective over more than two centuries (nineteenth and twentieth) in order to better identify the dialectic in the process of identity formation and change of a small European, stateless community, separated by a borderline and living in two different political, socioeconomic and cultural settings. The political expression of this long process of Basque ‘ethnogenesis’ (A.D. Smith) was the rise of the nationalist movement in the Spanish Basque Country at the end of the nineteenth century. By tracing the analysis of Basque identity back to pre-modern times and following its path to the present, this article aims to produce new insights into the factors that trigger the crucial moments of identity change that bring to an end previous periods of stability. Its epistemological fundaments are connected to some prominent topics that have been widely discussed by historians and other social scientists concerned with nationalism and national identity (the cultural shape of national identities; ‘modernists’ versus ‘ethno-symbolists’; nationalism and political religion; national identity and political violence).

The Breakdown of State-building: From the Nation to Radicalisation

This article attempts to explore the nexus between exclusionary state-building practices, inter-ethnic relations and Violent Extremism and Radicalisation that Lead to Terrorism (verlt). The current focus on individual trajectories has left the social context in which individuals radicalise underexplored. By taking a birds-eye view, this article aims to untangle the ways in which particular historic conditions and perceptions of discrimination and marginalisation following state-building practices feed specifically into the radicalisation of minority communities. Following a comparison between state-building practices in Turkey, China and Spain and the impact on Kurdish, Uyghur and Basque identity construction respectively, the authors argue that the failure to include minority groups into the identity of the state is one of the key reasons for the politicisation of minority identities. This implies the need for inclusionary policies as a response to verlt. It is exactly through the promotion, facilitation and execution of inclusive policies that the osce can make an important contribution.