On the issue of the administrative and legal methodology used by the Kingdom of Spain to counter the nationalist and separatist aspirations of the Basque country

Introduction. The article is devoted to the instruments used by the Spanish Kingdom in administrative and legal spheres to counter nationalist and separatist aspirations of the Basque Country throughout different historic periods. Special attention is paid to the confrontation with the Basque terrorist organization ETA. In addition, the research analyzes what caused ETA to emerge, underscores the major stages of its evolution, and discusses cross-border aspects of bilateral cooperation between Spain and France under the aegis of the supra-national specialized organization of Europol. The administrative and legal instruments used by Spain are distinguished in context of the analysis of the prospects for the applying of modern political and legal toolkit in the regional policy that is often contrary to the interests of the modern centralized state. The research pays attention to the administrative measures that led to ETA crisis and its further collapse.

Material and methods. The paper uses the methodology of a retrospective analysis and content-analysis to characterize the shifts in the principles of Spanish administrative and territorial tools and their influence on the nature of the Basque nationalism. The Constitution of 1977 and the Statute of autonomy of the Basque Country are considered.

Results. The paper sums up all the major shifts in the Spanish practice in the usage of administrative and political measures to combat the Basque separatist aspirations, evaluates their efficiency and outlines current obstacles towards the way of the establishment of a new bilateral dialogue with Madrid.

Conclusion. The first part of this article points out the growth of nationalist and separatist aspirations in the Basque Country and shows how political systems (absolute monarchy, republic, authoritarian governance, constitutional monarchy) lead to the application of new administrative and legal instruments that affect the Basque nationalist aspirations. The second part focuses on the current state of relations between the region and the central government.

1. Androsik S. JeTA uzhe ne ta: terroristy strany baskov prekratili sushhestvovanie [ETA is not the same anymore: Basque country terrorists rolled over]. URL: https://sputnik.by.

2. Kelner H.G., 2001. Decentralizacija v Ispanii prinosit uspehi [Decentralization in Espania brings success]. Nacional’nye otnoshenija v polijetnicheskih gosudarstvah [National Relations in Multi-Ethnic States]. № 1.

3. Kozhanovskij A.N., 2007. Ispanija: Anfas i profil’ [Spain: full face and profile]. Moscow.

4. Landabaso Angulo A.I., Konovalov A.M., 2004. Terrorizm i jetnopoliticheskie konflikty. Kniga 1. Iz istorii baskov [Terrorism and ethno-political conflicts. Book 1. From the Basque History]. Moscow.

5. Samsonkina E.S. Jevoljucija baskskogo nacionalizma. URL: http://www.hist.msu.ru.

6. Sanches Kujenka I., 2003. JeTA protiv gosudarstva. Strategii terrorizma // Sovremennaja Ispanija: Ref. sb. [ETA against the state. Strategies of terrorism // Modern Spain. Abstract collection]. Moscow: INION RAN [Institute of Scientific Literature in Social Sciences of the Russian Academy of Sciences].

7. Tishkov V.A., Shnirel’man V.A. Nacionalizm v mirovoj istorii. Baskskij jetnicheskij nacionalizm i ego jevoljucija [Nationalism in world history. Basque ethnic nationalism and its evolution]. URL: https://texts.news.

8. Henkin S.M. «Baskskij nacionalizm: metamorfozy razvitija» [Basque nationalism: a metamorphic development] URL: http://www.perspektivy.info.

9. Henkin S.M. ETA: Rascvet i krizis nacionalisticheskogo terrorizma v Ispanii [The heyday and crisis of nationalist terrorism in Spain]. NIU VSHE [Research Institute Higher School of Economics]. URL: http://ecsocman.hse.ru.

10. Epshtejn V.A., Men’shikov P.V., Vil’chinskij A.S., 2019. Baskskij nacionalizm: osnovnye jetapy jevoljucii i sovremennoe sostojanie [Basque nationalism: the main stages of evolution and the current state]. Obshhestvo: politika, jekonomika, parvo [Society: politics, economics, law]. № 4.

11. Case of Herri Batasuna and Batasuna v. Spain (Applications nos. 25803/04 and 25817/04). ECHR database. URL: http://economia.unica.it.

12. Duva J. La primera víctima de ETA [The first victim of ETA]. El Pais, 31.01.2010. URL: https://elpais.com.

13. Epshteyn V.A., Menshikov P.V., Vilchinskii A.S., 2018. To the problem of the transformation of the party system of the Kingdom of Spain in the late XX – early XXI centuries. Kazanskij socialno-gumanitarnyj vestnik [Kazan Social and Humanitarian Bulletin]. Vol. 5.

14. Gurruchaga A., 1985. El código nacionalista vasco durante el franquismo [The Basque nationalism during the period of Franco]. Barcelona, Anthropos.

15. Ormazabal М. ETA sends letter to institutions, social agents announcing its dissolution. El Pais. URL: https://elpais.com.

16. El Estatuto de Autonomía [The Statute of autonomy]. Official website of the government of the Basque Country. URL: http://www.euskadi.eus.

17. Krutwig F., 1962. Basconia. Fondo documental EHK [The Basque Country EHK documentary fund]. URL: http://www.ehk.eus.

18. La Contitución Española [The Spanish Constitution]. Official website of the Spanish government. URL: http://www.lamoncloa.gob.es.

19. Laínz J., 2004. Adiós, España: Verdad y mentira de los nacionalismos. Ediciones encuentro [Farewell Spain: truth and lie about nationalism. Meeting Issues]. Madrid, Editiones Encuentro [Editions Encounter].

20. Payne S., 1974. El nacionalismo vasco, de sus origenes a la ETA [The Basque nationalism, from the emergence till ETA]. Barcelona: Dopesa, Ed. 2.

21. Programas electorales: diferencias y coincidencias entre el 20-D y el 26-J [The electoral programmes: difference and coincidence between the elections of 20-D and 26-J]. El Pais. 08.06.2016. URL: https://elpais.com.

22. Duhart P.E., 2015. “Todo es ETA”: The Radical Basque Separatist Movement as a Construct in Spanish Law. Perspectives on Europe. Autumn.

23. Sainz J.L. de la Granja., 2009. El nacionalismo vasco: claves de su historia [The Basque nationalism: the main steps of its history]. Madrid.

24. Sainz J.L de la Granja. El “antimaketismo”: la visión de Sabino Arana sobre España y los españoles [The principle of “antimaketismo”: the view of Sabino Arana on Spain and Spanish people]. URL: https://dialnet.unirioja.es.

25. Segovia M. El PNV aparca el nuevo ‘estatus vasco’ de su programa, “hay que ser realistas” [The BNP excludes the “Basque Statute” from its programme, “it is important to be realistic”]. El independiente [The independent]. URL: https://www.elindependiente.com.

26. Shepard W.S., 2002. The ETA: Spain Fights Europe’s Last Active Terrorist Group. Mediterranean Quarterly. Winter, 21.12.

27. Stavenhagen R. Los conflictos étnicos y sus repercusiones en la sociedad internacional [Ethnic conflicts and their impact on international society]. URL: https://centroderecursos.cultura.pe.

28. Suarez-Zuloaga I., 2007. Vascos contra vascos. Una explicacion ecuanime de dos siglos de luchas [Basques versus Basques. An explanation of the two centuries of struggle]. Barcelona.

29. The EU Terrorism Situation and Trend Report 2008 // Europol official web page. URL: https://www.europol.europa.eu.

30. The EU Terrorism Situation and Trend Report (TE-SAT) 2017. Europol official web page. URL: https://www.europol.europa.eu.

31. Woodworth P., 2001. Dirty War, Clean Hands: ETA, the GAL and Spanish Democracy. Cork University Press.