Realism in the Basque Region of Spain

Realism in the Basque Region of Spain

What made war inevitable was the want for power, the need for individualism, the want of isolation and the closed-mindedness of opposing states. All of these factors have had a role in the attempted separation of the “Basque Country” or “El Pais Vasco” from Spain. From before the Spanish Civil War in 1936 until today the Basque’s have always been trying to find a way to separate and become an independent state. Their reasoning behind this want for separation can be described through a realist point of view.

The Basque region has a very interesting and unique history. For a very long time, the area was divided between Spain and France; this division has caused many nationalists problems. The Basque region is a very nationalist area and nationalism has had an extreme importance in the region. This is one of the reasons why the Basque region is so unique. Another reason would be despite the fact that it is a part of Spain; the Basque region doesn’t necessarily speak traditional Spanish; they speak a “dialect” of Spanish that in reality has very little relation to actual Spanish at all. As Spanish is considered a “romantic language” many do not consider Vasco anything close to this. The Basque region has taken much pride in its differences from the rest of Spain and this pride leads to their individualism.

As Spain’s government and monarchy went through many changes many people immigrated out of traditional regions and into area such as the Basque. The nationals of the Basque region considered this abundance of immigrants as an invasion of their territory that demolished their identity. This lead to the nationalist defense of the region; the Basque region has always been known as very defensive and independent. Outsiders were not welcomed in the Basque region; they truly wanted to be isolated and left to their own ideas.

The Basque region followed an idea known as “carlismo”. Carlismo was a tradionalist and legitimist political movement that questioned who could be in charge of the Spanish throne. The Partido (Party) Nationalist Vasco (PNV) came about from this movement during the rule of Francisco Franco. In 1959 the ETA (today a very violent party in Spain) was formed by a young group of nationalists that weren’t satisfied by the previous national party known as PNV. The group ETA believed in the importance of their language, their religion (strong Catholics) and social justice. They were anti-capitalist and were also anti-imperialist. They did not really gain a reputation of violence until 1961. It has been said that the terrorism of ETA is without a doubt, the principal obstacle Spain faces in trying to have unity and protection as explained in the Constitution of 1978. The ETA is a part of very violent nationalism; their party on a political scale is very far left and is even considered Marxist.

Today the ETA in the Basque region is still pushing for independence but has been rather calm. Since 1959 the ETA has killed over 820 people in acts such as car bombs and shootings. “But the group has been decimated in recent years by arrests of its leaders and members, and has not killed anyone in Spain in more than two years” (NPR). There are over 700 ETA prisoners in jail between Spain and France; many believe this is the reason why acts of violence have been so low. In fact, the ETA has even been in a ceasefire since September of 2010. Despite the fact that no violence is coming from the group, they still hold protests frequently and still are trying to get their independence.

Perhaps realism can explain why the Basque region’s want for independence is strong? As we saw in class and through our lab, realism can help explain why people go to war. When looking back at what made “war” inevitable in the Basque regions we saw that the want for power played a huge role. As we know, the idea of realism supports the concept that there will always be a want for power. Realism shows us that there is a reason behind everything; and that motives lead to these reasons. Some motives that explain the actions of the Basque region and the ETA include their individualism and their want to be a separate state. We saw in realism that security also played a large role. When the Basque region had multiple groups of immigrants invading their territory they felt threatened and needed to increase their own security. The Basque region simply did not trust the other regions of Spain or the other ruling powers of Spain. Why was the ETA so violent? Violence was a motive to them; violence was a way to gain their independence. To this day, these concepts that support the idea of Realism can still explain what is going on between the Basque region and the rest of Spain; it explains why they so desperately want independence.

Realism cannot explain though what will happen in the future in the Basque region. Will the ETA stray away from its ceasefire and come back into a world of violence? Many believe that in the upcoming November elections in Spain the ETA will strike again. Realism cannot explain whether or not the Basque region will ever gain its independence; only time will tell.

Works Cited

Book, The. "Jailed Members Of Basque ETA Renounce Violence: NPR." NPR: National Public Radio: News & Analysis, World, US, Music & Arts: NPR. Web. 25 Sept. 2011. .

Pereira-Muro, Carmen, and John Beusterien. "Capitulo 9." Culturas De Espan%u0303a. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 2003. Print.