Weaponising unresolved pasts: The impact of victimhood narratives on societal reconciliation in Spain and the Basque Country in the aftermath of ETA

The thesis explores the socio-political climate in Spain and the Basque country in the aftermath of the definitive 2011 ceasefire and the eventual 2018 dissolution of the Basque nationalist militant group Euskadi ta Askatasuna (ETA), coming after more than half a century of its armed struggle against the Spanish state. Despite the end of physical violence, its legacies nevertheless still echo in the Basque Country and in Spain as a whole. The thesis analyses the highly polarised ‘fringe’ yet influential “Abertzale” and “Spanish nationalist” narratives which reflect these legacies, with fundamentally opposed parties effectively utilising these discourses as rhetorical weapons in public discourse and politics. A particular feature standing out in these narratives is the problematic conceptualisation of victimhood. The thesis examines these post-2011 narratives of victimhood in detail, specifically focusing on how they detrimentally affect the prospects for societal reconciliation...Show moreThe thesis explores the socio-political climate in Spain and the Basque country in the aftermath of the definitive 2011 ceasefire and the eventual 2018 dissolution of the Basque nationalist militant group Euskadi ta Askatasuna (ETA), coming after more than half a century of its armed struggle against the Spanish state. Despite the end of physical violence, its legacies nevertheless still echo in the Basque Country and in Spain as a whole. The thesis analyses the highly polarised ‘fringe’ yet influential “Abertzale” and “Spanish nationalist” narratives which reflect these legacies, with fundamentally opposed parties effectively utilising these discourses as rhetorical weapons in public discourse and politics. A particular feature standing out in these narratives is the problematic conceptualisation of victimhood. The thesis examines these post-2011 narratives of victimhood in detail, specifically focusing on how they detrimentally affect the prospects for societal reconciliation following the end of ETA, whilst taking into account the complex historical burdens of the Basque case and the controversial legacies of the Francoist dictatorship which further entrench these narratives. Furthermore, the conceptualisations of victimhood in the often-compared Northern Irish case are scrutinised in order to devise a theoretical framework for this largely unexplored concept in the Basque case. It is finally concluded that clashing victimhood claims, deeply intertwined with the long-standing narratives of “political conflict” and “terrorism,” fundamentally impede progress towards reconciliation in the Basque case. The thesis suggests a victim-centric approach as well as a push for inclusive conceptualisations of victimhood may be the key avenues to explore in order to pursue societal reconciliation in the post-ETA era.Show less

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Weaponising unresolved pasts: The impact of victimhood narratives on societal reconciliation in Spain and the Basque Country in the aftermath of ETA