¡Basta Ya! The Basque civic movement and nonviolent resistance to ETA’s terrorism

This paper examines the impact that the Basque civic movement had in the civil resistance against the armed separatist group Euskadi Ta Askatasuna (ETA). The ‘civic’ or ‘constitutionalist’ movement, whose best-known representative was the social movement organization ¡Basta Ya!, emerged to demand the protection of Basque citizens’ human and political rights, which were routinely abused by ETA and their sympathisers. The movement impacted on the cycle of contention against terrorism through the diffusion of democratic norms and anti-ETA political narratives, by sustaining civil resistance against terrorism while enduring persecution by their militants and sympathisers and by protecting the social fabric through the channelling of non-nationalist grievances into collective action that was pro-democratic and nonviolent. The case highlights the parallels that exist between civil resistance to authoritarian regimes and non-state groups and the crucial role that civil society actors can play in the social delegitimisation of terrorist organisations.Publisher PDFPeer reviewe

Political resilience and EU responses to aviation terrorism

In this article, we examine how European authorities have responded to reported threats to aviation resulting from individual terrorist tactics. We do so by applying the notion of political resilience and drawing on Palonen’s “policy, polity, politicking, and politicization” model as well as on Malcolm Anderson’s concept of “politics of the latest outrage.” We argue that the European Union response to aviation terrorism has created polity transformation and generated a long list of new policies but has also in the process become politicized and subject of politicking, with some high-profile measures being criticized for having a deleterious impact on passengers’ rights.PostprintPeer reviewe

A battle of narratives - Spanish victims organisations international action to delegitimise terrorism and political violence

This work was supported by the European Commission [Grant number HOME/2012/ISEC/AG/RAD].Spanish victims groups have provided a visible contribution to European terrorist violence prevention efforts. Instrumental and knowledge transfer motivations partly explain this interest but a separate driver that requires more attention is their opposition to the international narrative that legitimises ETAs violence promulgated by the political movement of the Basque Patriotic Left. This has resulted in a 'battle of narratives' played out at the international level in order to shape the future of Basque politics where victims are challenging a discourse that frames the past in a way that justifies terrorism and that leaves the door open to a future return to violence.PostprintPeer reviewe

State responses to victims of terrorism needs in Spain

The chapter studies the provision and delivery of services to Spanish victims of terrorism by state entities. It also provides a historical account of the evolution of the system whilst taking into consideration the impact resulting from the dynamics of violence and the evolving social and political context. The analysis addresses the absence of institutional support in the 1970s and 1980s and notes how the feeling of neglect that many victims felt during this period led to the establishment of the first victims associations in the country. It then analyses the institutionalisation of a support system in the form of statutory bodies and specialised legislation during the 1990s before mapping out the regime now in place in both Spain and the Basque Country. The current framework is constituted by two main elements: the day-to-day work of statutory bodies and the rights protected and needs addressed by legislative initiatives. Within this framework, the most important instruments have been put in place by the central government and the Basque regional administration.PostprintNon peer reviewe

Examining deterrence and backlash effects in counter-terrorism : the case of ETA

Scholars are increasingly drawing on models and theories from the field of Criminology to offer new insights on terrorist violence. A particularly useful framework by LaFree, Dugan, and Korte works from the assumption that illegal behaviour can be affected by the threat and/or imposition of punishment. It sees the results of the government's intervention in terms of deterrence (state's repressive action leads to a reduction in terrorism violence), and backlash (state's repressive action leads to defiance and retaliation, and to an upsurge of terrorism violence). This article applies this model to a case study of the government's responses to Euzkadi Ta Askatasuna (ETA). It uses a variation of survival analysis technique -Series Hazard- to assess the impact of six major initiatives on the risk of new ETA attacks in the period from 1977 to 2010. Mostly, the results provide support for both backlash interpretations, although important questions regarding interpretation are raised.PostprintPeer reviewe

A decade of EU counter-terrorism and intelligence : a critical assessment

The article is the centrepiece of a special issue co-edited with Oldrich Bures and Christian Kaunert on the European Union counterterror policies. This work offers a critical evaluation of the EU efforts in this area, its successes, failings and present and future challenges and includes in it contributions from some of the most renown experts on the subject.PostprintPeer reviewe

Introduction to Special Issue – Understanding and conceptualizing European jihadists : criminals, extremists or both?

Funding: Alexander Kupatadze and Javier Argomaniz received British Academy/Leverhulme Small Reserach Grant to organise the workshop on crime-terror nexus.PostprintPeer reviewe

Jihadism and crime in Spain : a convergence settings approach

This article explores the melting pot of jihadists and criminals that has featured in some of the most significant jihadist attacks and plots foiled in Spain over the last 15 years. Applying Felson?s offender convergence settings theory to this case, we argue that the confluence of criminality and jihadism observed in other European contexts has also been present in the Spanish case. Individuals with criminal pasts have utilized their skills for terrorist attacks, a variety of forms of crime have been used to fund terrorism, and certain settings such as prisons have facilitated the convergence between criminals and jihadists and enabled a process of identity transition.PostprintPeer reviewe