Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

The political consequences of the end of nationalist violence: the Basque Country and Corsica in comparative perspective

  • ORIGINAL ARTICLE
  • Published:
French Politics Aims and scope

Abstract

The last decade has seen the disappearance of nationalist political violence in two minority nations of Western Europe: the (Spanish) Basque Country and Corsica. Considering the importance of violence in the politics of these two communities (since 1959 in the Basque Country and 1976 in Corsica), the 2014 announcement by the Front de libération nationale corse of its ‘demilitarization’ and the dissolution of Euskadi Ta Askatasuna in 2018 represented potential critical junctures in the political development of both the Basque Country and Corsica. What, then, was the impact of the end of political violence in the two communities and why did this new ‘civil peace’ play out differently across the two cases, if it did? This article traces the process of political development in the Basque Country and Corsica through and after the end of violence. It shows that such end led to a strengthening of nationalism and a surge of claims for increased autonomy much more in Corsica than in the Basque Country. Then, the paper looks for an explanation for this divergence. It focuses on four differences between the two cases that could logically account for the different outcomes: constitutional status (the Basque Country has legislative and fiscal autonomy whereas Corsica has neither); the configuration of political power within each community (Basque nationalists dominate Basque politics whereas non-nationalist forces controlled Corsica until recently); the ideological positioning of the nationalist parties (more divergent in the Basque Country than in Corsica); and the levels of past violence (high in the Basque Country and low in Corsica). All these factors make post-violence alliances between nationalist forces easier in Corsica than the Basque Country.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

Notes

  1. Siroky et al. (2022) see the work of the clans as an instance of ‘indirect rule’ that contained nationalism.

  2. The FLNC’s first manifesto of 5 May 1976 is addressed to the ‘Peuple corse’ (Fabiani 2018: 56–57). The manifesto also specifically states that the new organization is the product of ‘nationalists deciding to come together’ ([L]es nationalistes ont décidé de s’unifier) (Fabiani 2018: 56). The label ‘nationalist’ therefore replaces that of ‘regionalist’. Of course, not all ‘nationalists’ did come together. For example, Max Simeoni wrote a famous editorial in 1973 in Arritti, the paper he founded in 1966, entitled ‘I am a Corsican nationalist’ (Je suis nationaliste corse) (Fazi 2022a, 2022b). The Simeoni family became leaders of the ‘autonomist’ movement, which condemned violence.

  3. The Union du peuple corse (UPC), founded by Edmond Simeoni in 1977, merged with smaller parties to become the Parti de la nation corse (PNC) in 2002.

  4. Corsica Libera, the main corresponding party of this secessionist stream, was created in 2009 from the merger of secessionist parties and groups, most notably Corsica Nazione. In the last territorial election before the end of political violence in 2010, Corsica Libera won 4 out of 61 seats in the Corsica Assembly.

  5. When direct elections occurred in the regions of Metropolitan France in 1986, the initial potential for Corsica’s statut particulier largely vanished (Michalon 2000: 51). Through the decentralization laws, Corsica also received the power to propose to France’s Prime Minister changes in laws or rules affecting the competencies, organization, and workings of the island’s ‘collectivités territoriales’ (i.e. region, departments, and communes) (Michalon 2000: 51).

  6. Erignac’s successor as préfet, Bernard Bonnet, arranged an arson on a beach restaurant (paillotte) together with ‘clues’ suggesting the crime was perpetrated by nationalist forces. Bonnet received a three-year prison sentence in 2002.

  7. On 10 March 2000, the Corsican Assembly voted on one motion calling for ‘significant decentralization’ (large décentralisation), resulting in a (thin) majority of 26 out of 51 members, and another on ‘legislative autonomy’ (une compétence législative et réglementaire de plein droit), which garnered the support of 22 members (Crettiez 2000:60).

  8. According to Fazi (2022a, b), there were 10 attacks in 2008 and only one in 2009, down from 63 in 2007. Crettiez and Boirot (2021: 65) have different (higher) numbers but a similar trend. The consideration of public and/or private property targets could be a factor in the slightly different numbers.

  9. Gilles Simeoni became president of the executive council while Jean-Guy Talamoni was appointed president of the Corsican Assembly. Femu a Corsica was the product of a merger between Inseme per a Corsica, founded by Gilles Simeoni in 2009, and a smaller autonomist group.

  10. This alliance also included the autonomist Partitu di a Nazione Corsa.

  11. Our translation of ‘un acte politique fort qui appelle des initiatives réciproques afin de conforter la dynamique de paix’.

  12. Paul Giacobbi, for example, stated in 2021: ‘I am in favour of autonomy. But not in all fields. I support it for practical matters and for identity matters’ (Mastor 2022: 176). Our translation of ‘[J]e suis pour l’autonomie. Mais pas dans tous les domaines. J’y suis favorable pour des questions pratiques, et pour les questions d’identité’.

  13. Our translation. In an interview with the newspaper Corse Matin, Darmanin stated: ‘Nous, nous sommes prêts à aller jusqu’à l’autonomie’.

  14. Such norms limited the extent of previous legislation on decentralization and/or Corsica (Henders 2010: 102–106).

  15. Our translation of ‘un objectif institutionnel clair’ and ‘une autonomie de plein droit et de plein exercice, avec pouvoirs législatif, réglementaire et fiscal’.

  16. For example, the absolute priority for the PNV-led Basque government is the renewal of the foral agreements on fiscal autonomy every five years.

  17. However, the expansion of the nationalist narrative to focus on the well-being of those living in the region regardless of their stances on Basque self-determination or identity (Zabalo and Iraola 2022) speaks to an attempt to work around some of the nationalist categories.

  18. While the number of terrorism-related deaths per inhabitant in the Basque Country and Corsica are about the same, violence pervaded politics in the Basque Country and in Spain as a whole to a higher degree than in Corsica and France.

  19. We could also add that Corsica’s ‘islandness’ and extreme peripheral position within the French state, and perhaps also its underdevelopment, represented additional incentives for post-violence nationalist alliances and push for autonomy.

  20. Our translation of ‘idée qu’on s’était donnée d’autonomie dans la Constitution de la République française’.

References

  • Albin, Danilo. 2016. El Aberri Eguna muestra una amplia mayoría a favor del derecho a decidir El Público, 27 March 2016. https://www.publico.es/politica/aberri-eguna-muestra-amplia-mayoria.html

  • Alonso, Rogelio. 2017. Victims of ETA’s terrorism as an interest group: Evolution, influence, and impact on the political agenda of Spain. Terrorism and Political Violence 29 (6): 985–1005.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Anderson, Liam. 2019. Surviving the Jacobin state: separatist terrorist organizations in Britanny’s ARB and Corsica’s FLNC. In Secessionism and Terrorism, Bombs Blood and Independence in Europe and Eurasia, ed. G.M.E. Duerr, 59–86. London: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Antech, Roger. 2022. Gérard Darmanin : « Nous sommes prêts à aller jusqu’à l’autonomie, » Corse matin. 16 March. https://www.corsematin.com/articles/gerald-darmanin-nous-sommes-prets-a-aller-jusqua-lautonomie-124191

  • Arévalo-Iglesias, G., and Mikel Álvarez-Mozos. 2020. Power distribution in the Basque parliament using games with externalities. Theory and Decision 89: 157–178.

    Article  MathSciNet  Google Scholar 

  • Basabe, Nekane, et al. 2021. Collective violence and construction of peace culture in the Basque Country: two experiences of memory, recognition and forgiveness. Deusto Journal of Human Rights. 8:103–130.

  • Beach, Derek. 2016. It’s all about mechanisms – what process-tracing case studies should be tracing. New Political Economy 21 (5): 463–472.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Briquet, Jean-Louis. 2000. La question de la ‘spécificité’ corse. Pouvoirs Locaux. 47 (4): 64–68.

    Google Scholar 

  • Briquet, Jean-Louis. 1997. La tradition en mouvement. Clientélisme et politique en Corse. Paris : Belin.

  • Brown, David. 1999. Are there good and bad Nationalisms? Nations and Nationalism 5 (2): 281–302.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Capoccia, Giovanni, and Daniel R. Kelemen. 2007. The study of critical junctures: Theory, narrative, and counterfactuals in historical institutionalism. World Politics. 59 (3): 341–369.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Casanova, Iker. 2007. ETA 1958–2008: Medio siglo de historia. Txalaparta.

  • Conversi, Daniele. 1997. The Basques, the Catalans, and Spain: Alternative Routes to Nationalist Mobilisation. London: Hurst.

    Google Scholar 

  • Conversi, Daniele, and Gorka Espiau. 2019. Basque Country. In Comparing Peace Processes, ed. Alpaslan Özerdem and Roger MacGinty, 56–72. New York: Routledge.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Corsi, Pierre. 2022. Processus Darmanin : destination : inconnue. Journal de la Corse, 14 juillet. https://www.journaldelacorse.corsica/articles/1714/processus-darmanin-destination-inconnue

  • Crettiez, Xavier. 2000. Violence et politique de la reconnaissance. Pouvoirs Locaux. 47 (4): 58–63.

    Google Scholar 

  • Crettiez, Xavier, and Jennifer Boirot. 2021. In Violences politiques en France, (with the collaboration of Xavier Crettiez and François Audigier), ed. Isabelle Sommier, 55–83. Paris: SciencePo Les Presses.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Dominici, Thierry. 2004. Le nationalisme dans la Corse contemporaine. Pôle Sud. 20: 97–112.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dominici, Thierry. 2016. Corsica. In The Emergence of a Democratic Right to Self-Determination in Europe, ed. Daniel Turp and Marc Sanjaume-Calvet, 100–111. Brussels: Centre Maurits Coppieters.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ormazabal Elola, Sabino. 2018. Pays Basque, une autre histoire. Non-Violence Active Et Créative. Alternatives Non-Violentes. 188(3): 13–16.

  • Fabiani, Jean-Louis. 2018. Sociologie de la Corse. Paris: La Découverte.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Fazi, André. 2022b. De la contestation violente aux triomphes électoraux. Une petite histoire du nationalisme corse. In Identités nationales et identités régionales dans l’espace de la francophonie européenne et nord-américaine des années 1960 à nos jours, ed. Jean Lamarre, Jean-Noël. Grandhomme, and François Audigier, 105–120. Québec: Les Presses de l’Université Laval.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Fazi, André. 2009. La recomposition territoriale du pouvoir. Les régions insulaires de la Méditerranée occidentale. Ajaccio: Albiana.

  • Fazi, André. 2022. Autonomie : de la revendication à la projection?. Rivista Robba. 17 April. https://www.rivistarobba.com/Autonomie-de-la-revendication-a-la-projection_a174.html

  • Fourquet, Jérôme. 2017. La nouvelle question corse. Nationalisme, clanisme, immigration. La Tour-d’Aigues, Éditions de l’Aube.

  • Fullaondo, Arkaitz, and Julen Zabalo. 2020. In favour of a Basque state A paradigm shift? Nations and Nationalism. 28 (3): 924–940.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Goldstone, Jack A., and Charles Tilly. 2001. Threat and opportunity: Popular action and state response in the dynamics of contentious action. In Silence and voice in the study of contentious politics, ed. A. Ronald, J.A. Goldstone, D. McAdam, E.J. Perry, W.H. Sewell, S. Tarrow, and C. Tilly, 179–194. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Heath-Kelly, C., Laura Fernádez, and de Mosteyrín,. 2021. The political use of victimhood: Spanish collective memory of ETA through the war on terror paradigm. Review of International Studies. 47 (1): 1–18.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Henders, Susan. 2010. Territoriality, Asymmetry, and Autonomy. Catalonia, Corsica, Hong Kong, and Tibet. New York, Palgrave Macmillan.

  • Irvin, Cynthia. 1999. Militant nationalism : Between movement and party in Ireland and the Basque Country. Minneapolis, MN: University of Minnesota Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Izarra, Josean. 2022a. Ortuzar critica a Sánchez por el "incomprensible, injustificable e inaceptable” retraso de las transferencias pero le garantiza su apoyo. El Mundo, September 2. https://www.elmundo.es/pais-vasco/2022/09/02/631245a7e4d4d8190d8b45a1.html

  • Izarra, Josean. 2022b. Ortuzar augura una ‘ventana de oportunidad’ para pactar un ‘nuevo estatus’ en la próxima legislatura española. El Mundo. September 7. https://www.elmundo.es/pais-vasco/2022/09/07/63184c26fc6c8300598b45b0.html

  • Jones, Sam. 2018. Basque separatist group ETA announces dissolution. The Guardian, May 2nd. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/may/02/basque-separatist-group-eta-announces-dissolution

  • Kerr, Stephanie. 2019. Ally or competitor? Basque nationalism’s reaction to the New Spanish left. Nations and Nationalism. 25 (2): 587–606.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Khatami, Siamak. 2013. Peacemaking in the Basque Country. The History, and the Possibilities of the Peace Process Between the Government of Spain and the Basque Separatist Organization ETA. Bloomington: AuthorHouse.

  • de la Calle, Luis, and André Fazi. 2010. Making nationalists out of Frenchmen?: substate nationalism in Corsica. Nationalism & Ethnic Politics. 16 (3–4): 397–419.

  • Lecours, André. 2007. Basque nationalism and the Spanish state. Reno: University of Nevada Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lecours, André. 2021. Nationalism, Secessionism, and Autonomy. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Lenclud, Gérard. 2012. En Corse. Une société en mosaïque. Paris. Éditions de la MSH.

  • Mahoney, Charles. 2018. End of the cycle: Assessing ETA’s strategies of terrorism. Small Wars & Insurgencies. 29 (5–6): 916–940.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mansvelt-Beck, Jans. 2005. Territory and Terror: Conflicting nationalisms in the Basque country. London: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mari, Nicole. 2018. Le rendez-vous raté d’E. Macron. Le pacte girondin est mort, vive le pacte jacobin!. Corse Net Infos, 7 February. https://www.corsenetinfos.corsica/Le-rendez-vous-rate-d-E-Macron-Le-pacte-girondin-est-mort-vive-le-pacte-jacobin-_a31616.html

  • Mastor, Wanda. 2018. Les Présidents de la Ve République : Jacobins ou girondins? Pouvoirs. 3 (166): 81–96.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mastor, Wanda. 2022. Vers l’autonomie. Pour une évolution institutionnelle de la Corse. Ajaccio : Albiana.

  • McAdam, Doug. 1996. Conceptual origins. Current Problems. Future Directions. In Comparative perspectives on social movements: Political opportunities, mobilizing structures, and cultural framings, ed. Doug McAdam, John D. McCarthy, and Mayer N. Zald, 23–40. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Medrano, Juan Díez. 1995. Divided Nations, Class, Politics, and Nationalism in the Basque Country and Catalonia. Ithaca: Cornell University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mees, Ludger. 2003. Nationalism, Violence and Democracy: The Basque Clash of Identities (1st ed.,). Palgrave Macmillan Limited. https://doi.org/10.1057/9781403943897

  • Mees, Ludger. 2015. Nationalist politics and the crossroads: The Basque Nationalist Party and the challenge of sovereignty. Nationalism and Ethnic Politics. 21 (1): 44–62.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Michalon, Thierry. 2000. Vers l’indispensable autonomie. Pouvoirs Locaux 47 (4): 50–57.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mitchell, Paul. 1995. Party competition in an ethnic dual party system. Ethnic and Racial Studies 18 (4): 773–796.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mitchell, David, Etain Tannam, and Sarah Wallace. 2018. The Agreement’s impact on political cooperation. Irish Political Studies 33 (3): 283–310.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Muñoz, Ainhoa. 2022a. El 'no' a la independencia en Euskadi alcanza el 40%, la cifra más alta en los últimos 24 años. El Diario Vasco, March 11. https://www.diariovasco.com/politica/independencia-euskadi-sociometro-20220311124915-nt.html

  • Muñoz, Ainhoa. 2022b. Egibar reconoce que Sánchez «no hace caso» al PNV y le exige cumplir el Estatuto. El Diario Vasco, September 22, https://www.diariovasco.com/politica/egibar-reconoce-sanchez-20220922211522-nt.html?ref=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.com%2F

  • Nairn, Tom. 1998. Faces of Nationalism. Janus Revisited. London: Verso.

  • El País. 2019. Resultados electorales 10N. https://resultados.elpais.com/elecciones/generales.html

  • Pè a Corsica. n.d. Accord stratégique «Pè a Corsica». Dix ans pour construire avec tous les Corses la Corse du 21ème siècle.

  • Pierson, Paul. 2004. Politics in Time: History, Institutions and Social Analysis. Princeton: Princeton University Press.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Sanguinetti, Sampiero. 2014. La Corse, entre clanisme et nationalisme. Introduction à une analyse politique 1798–2014. Ajaccio : Albiana.

  • Siroky, David, Sean Mueller, André Fazi, and Michael Hechter. 2022. Containing Nationalism: Culture, economics and indirect rule in Corsica. Comparative Political Studies. 54 (6): 1023–1057.

  • Soifer, Hillel. 2012. The causal logic of critical junctures. Comparative Political Studies. 45 (12): 1572–1597.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tarrow, Sidney. 2005. The New Transnational Activism. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Tarrow, Sidney. 2011. Power in movement: Social movements and contentious politics. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Tellidis, Ioannis. 2020. Peacebuilding beyond terrorism? Revisiting the narratives of the Basque Conflict. Studies in Conflict and Terrorism. 43 (6): 529–547.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tilley, James, John Garry, and Neil Matthews. 2021. The evolution of party policy and cleavage voting under power-sharing in Northern Ireland. Government and Opposition. 56(2): 226–244 

  • Vázquez Guevara, Valeria. 2018. Political coexitence in the Basque Case: Institutional action on violence, pluralism and agreements. Oñati Socio-legal Series. 8(7): 1093–1119.

  • Whitfield, Theresa. 2014. Endgame for ETA. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Zabalo, Julen, and Iker Iraola. 2022. Current discourses and attitudes in favour of the independence of the Basque Country. Regional and Federal Studies. 32 (1): 73–93.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zabalo, Julen, and Mikel Saratxo. 2015. ETA ceasefire: Armed struggle vs. political practice in Basque nationalism. Ethnicities. 15 (3): 362–384.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zulaika, Joseba, and Imanol Murua. 2017. How terrorism ends – and does not end: The Basque case. Critical Studies on Terrorism. 10 (2): 338–356.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Political Science, Faculty of Arts and Science, University of Lethbridge, D866 University Hall, 4401 University Drive, Lethbridge, AB, T1K 3M4, Canada

    Stephanie Kerr

  2. Political Studies, Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Ottawa, 120 University Private, Social Sciences Building, Room 7005, Ottawa, ON, K1N 6N5, Canada

    André Lecours

Authors
  1. Stephanie Kerr
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. André Lecours
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Stephanie Kerr.

Additional information

Publisher's Note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Rights and permissions

Springer Nature or its licensor (e.g. a society or other partner) holds exclusive rights to this article under a publishing agreement with the author(s) or other rightsholder(s); author self-archiving of the accepted manuscript version of this article is solely governed by the terms of such publishing agreement and applicable law.

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Kerr, S., Lecours, A. The political consequences of the end of nationalist violence: the Basque Country and Corsica in comparative perspective. Fr Polit 22, 3–23 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1057/s41253-023-00234-z

Download citation

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/s41253-023-00234-z

Keywords

Search

Navigation