To the outside world for some half a century the words ‘Basque Country’ have provoked an almost instant association with the Euskadi Ta Askatasuna (ETA Basque Homeland and Liberty) separatist group and violent conflict. The Basque Contention: Ethnicity Politics Violence attempts to undo this simplistic correlation and for the first time provide a definitive history of the wider political issues at the heart of the Basque Country. Drawing on three decades of research on Basque nationalism Ludger Mees weaves together the various historical and contemporary strands of this contention: from the late medieval kingdoms of Spain and France and the first articulations of a Basque ethno-particularism to the dissolution of ETA in 2018 and all manner of dictatorships conflict peace civil war political intrigue hope and failure in-between. For anyone who has ever wanted to gain an insight into the Basque Country beyond the headlines of ETA and grasp the complexity of its relationship with Spain France and indeed itself this volume provides a detailed yet digestible basis for such an understanding. |The Basque Contention Ethnicity Politics Violence | Europa
