The Basque Country : The long walk to a Democratic Scenario

Abstract

This case-study is one of a series produced by participants in an ongoing Berghof research\nprogram on Resistance and Liberation Movements in Transition. Our overall aim is to learn from the\nexperience of those in resistance or liberation movements who have used violence in their struggle\nbut have also engaged politically during the conflict and in any peace process. Recent experience\naround the world has demonstrated that reaching political settlement in protracted social conflict\nalways eventually needs the involvement of such movements. Our aim here is to discover how, from\na non-state perspective, such political development is handled, what is the relationship between\npolitical and military strategies and tactics, and to learn more about how such movements (often\nsweepingly and simplistically bundled under the label of non-state armed groups) contribute to\nthe transformation of conflict and to peacemaking. We can then use that experiential knowledge\n(1) to offer support to other movements who might be considering such a shift of strategy, and\n(2) to help other actors (states and international) to understand more clearly how to engage\nmeaningfully with such movements to bring about political progress and peaceful settlement.\nPolitical violence is a tool of both state and non-state actors, and replacing it by political\nmethods of conflict management is essential to making sustainable peace. With this research\nprogram we want to understand better how one side of that equation has been, or could be, achieved.\nDepending on the particular case, each study makes a strong argument for the necessary inclusion of\nthe movement in any future settlement, or documents clearly how such a role was effectively executed.\nWe consciously asked participants to reflect on their experience from their own unique point of\nview. What we publish in this series is not presented as neutral or exclusively accurate commentary. All\nhistories are biased histories, and there is no single truth in conflict or in peace. Rather, we believe these\ncase-studies are significant because they reflect important voices which are usually excluded or devalued in\nthe analysis of conflict. Increasing numbers of academics, for example, study “armed groups” from outside,\nbut few actually engage directly with them to hear their own points of view, rationales, and understandings\nof their context. We are convinced that these opinions and perspectives urgently need to be heard in order\nto broaden our understanding of peacemaking. For exactly this reason, each case study has been produced\nwith the very close co-operation of, and in some cases authored by, members of the movement concerned.\nAs the results amply illustrate, these perspectives are sophisticated, intelligent, political and strategic.\nThe reader may or may not agree with the perspectives expressed. But, much more importantly,\nwe hope that the reader will accept that these perspectives are valid in themselves and must be included\nin any attempt at comprehensive understanding of violent conflict and its transformation. We urgently\nneed to understand in more depth the dynamics of organisations who make the transition between\npolitical violence and democratic politics, in order to improve our understanding of their role, and our\npractice, in making peace.