TOWARDS A BASQUE STATE nation-building and institutions Ipar Hegoa Foundation / Basque Summer UniversityUniversityUniversity 2 Author: Ipar Hegoa Foundation With the assistance of the: Basque Summer University ISBN: 978-84-8438-421-9 Legal deposit: BI-1289-2012 Original title: Euskal Estatuari bidea zabaltzen: herrigintza eta erakundeak. Cover design: Ipar Hegoa Fundazioa Translator: Alan R. King Distributed by: Ipar Hegoa Fundazioa Rekalde Zumarkalea, 62 BILBO. Phone: 944706915 E-mail: [email protected] Udako Euskal Unibertsitatea (Basque Summer University). Erribera 14, 1. D, BILBO. Phone: 946790546 Fax: 944793039 E-mail: [email protected] / www.ueu.org By the present licence you may copy, distribute and display the content or produce derivative works provided the following conditions are met: – You must cite the author of the original content. – If you modify the content, or create a derivative work and distribute it, you must do so under the same conditions as in the present licence. – You may not use this work for any commercial purpose. 3 ContentsContentsContents FOREWORD Ipar Hegoa Fundazioa ......................................................................................................................................... 4 The Basque SState:tate: nationnation----buildingbuilding and institutions INTRODUCTIONINTRODUCTION.. STATEHOOD TODAYTODAY,,,, Mario Zubiaga Garate ......................................................................................................................................... 8 1. A EUROPEAN STATE IN THE BASQUEBASQUELANDLANDLANDLAND:: ON CONDITIONS FOR A NATION TO BECOME STATE Unai Apaolaza Amenabar, Imanol Galfarsoro Madariaga, Andoni Olariaga Azkarate ........................................................................................................................12 2. THE BASQUE STATE THROUGHOUT HISTORY: NAVARRE AS THE CENTRE POINT OF THE BASQUE NATIONAL MEMORYMEMORY,,,, Luis Mª Martínez Garate, Angel Rekalde Goikoetxea ...............................................................25 3. LEGAL ASPECTS OF THE CONSTRUCTION OF A BASQUE STATE: SECESSION AND LEGALLEGAL----POLITICALPOLITICAL CONSOLIDATIONCONSOLIDATION,,,, Iñigo Urrutia Libarona, Jon Iñarritu Garcia, Zelai Nikolas Ezkurdia ...................................45 4. THE BASQUE STATE AS AN EFFECTIVE MANAGEMENT TOOL: DIVERSITY, DEMOCRACY AND SOCIAL JUSTICEJUSTICE,,,, Asier Blas Mendoza .....................................................................................................................................73 5. DEMOCRATIZATION AND CONTENTIOUS POLITICS: BASQUE STATESTATE----BUILDINGBUILDING AS COLLECTIVE ACTION Mario Zubiaga Garate ............................................................................................................................... 94 4 FOREWORD Ipar Hegoa Fundazioa One of the goals of the IPAR HEGOA Foundation is to carry out studies and analyses of political and social issues of interest for the Basque Country and to encourage discussion of such subjects. Therefore, at the present time when there is much debate about the viability of Euskal Herria, IPAR HEGOA Fundazioa wishes to contribute to the discussion by offering these documents. Some will argue that Euskal Herria is a tiny country, that fragmentation makes no sense in the present era of globalisation, that what is needed now is for all of us to work together and achieve a mutual understanding, that demands for independence lead to discrimination among the members of a community, and so on, and so forth. Many factors and countless arguments are cited as reasons today for not creating new states; some of them are coherent arguments that make a certain amount of sense. And yet, be that as it may, thousands upon thousands of Basque citizens are still insisting that they want a state of their own. What of their arguments? Are these not also coherent, equally important arguments? Whether we like it or not, the fact is that in the world today the state continues to be the chief expression of comprehensive political decision-making power. Therefore, in the contemporary Basque Country, in the current political state of affairs, we believe it is both interesting and necessary to undertake a collective exercise of thinking through the benefits, options, risks and dangers that the construction of a Basque state in Europe would entail, on many levels, including the political, institutional, territorial, socio-economic, linguistic, cultural, and in terms of identity. The IPAR HEGOA Foundation proposes to take a long look at all the circumstances and ask how feasible a Basque state is. Thus we have brought together on these pages the opinions of numerous academics and researchers who are familiar with this range of subjects. We are well aware that there are many other specialists, besides these, who have often made extremely interesting contributions to the field. IPAR HEGOA Fundazioa has not set itself the task of bringing together contributions from every single such expert, or to present in equal measure current opinions in every discipline, or to represent every single region of our country to the same degree. Instead, priority has been given to achieving a coherent picture subscribed to by a respectable number of experts, even at the risk of leaving some geographical areas, universities or perspectives out of the picture. But this does not mean we have striven to produce a single, monolithic viewpoint: that was not our purpose. Each author was free to give their own opinion, provided only that they focus on the overall idea of the necessity and viability of a Basque state; beyond that, it is recognised that there is room for a variety of points of view. After all, the aim of the present study was not to create a constitution for the Basque state, nor to lay down rules for what a Basque state ought to be like. Ours is a less ambitious objective, yet quite a crucial one all the same. The question we wish to answer is this: Is a Basque state viable or not? Would it or would it not be worth the effort to create a Basque state? Would Basques be willing to embark on such a project? In the event that these questions find an answer and if that answer is in the affirmative, then, and only then, would it be time for us to turn to the next set of questions, questions about the direction and purpose of such a Basque state. The IPAR HEGOA Foundation believes that the present study addresses this matter of great interest, and that it is able to play a useful part in bringing Euskal Herria into focus in the present international situation, by gathering together a range of views now current in a 5 variety of disciplines; it may also help to establish the absolute and relative place of Euskal Herria within the domain of present-day states. We believe the interesting theoretical contributions set down on these pages will contribute to endowing the demand for a Basque state with substance, while also proving useful in order to lay a sound material and ideological foundation such as is necessary in order to give form to that endeavour. IPAR HEGOA holds that this is the best option for everybody who lives and works in Euskal Herria and defends the premise that at this time the Basque Country possesses the basic potentialities needed to build a state that can take its place among the states of Europe. Thus the IPAR HEGOA Fundazioa offers, in Towards a Basque StateState, a qualified contribution concerning the need for and feasibility of a newly created Basque state. The study consists of three parts covering different subject areas: NationNationNation-Nation---buildingbuilding and Institutions, Citizenship and Culture and Territory and SocioeconomicsSocioeconomics.... The present volume is concerned with the first of these areas, NationNationNation-Nation---buildingbuilding and InstitutionsInstitutionsInstitutions.Institutions In the words of the editor, MarioMarioMario Zubiaga Zubiaga, this section is an attempt to address the why and how of independence. No one would say that independence is a bad thing; what is at issue is for whom it is good or bad. The present volume proposes a clear answer to that question: Euskal Herria, and Basques of all ideological persuasions, only stand to benefit from the existence of an independent Euskal Herria. The only thing we have gained from being in Spain and France is the loss of our freedom. As the book’s authors argue, inasmuch as a Basque state is an expression of freedom, it may be a desirable, legitimate and feasible goal. The central thread running through this book is the analysis of the kind of social and political mobilisation that is necessary for the achievement of a Basque state. The present section on its legal and political aspects focuses on the nature of independence while emphasising the importance of that task. The question to be answered is how to achieve legitimately that which is needed: what is the foundation and essence of the demand for independence? What pro-independence discourse and action can be developed to support attainment of a Basque state? What legal arguments and approaches will prevail? How can the Basque independence movement deal with new territorial trends resulting from globalisation? And speaking of that, does the state make any sense in the new situation today? IPAR HEGOA hopes that this study will serve as a fruitful starting point for further studies on how to approach the building of the Basque state. We are extremely grateful for the interest and