Europäisches Zentrum für Föderalismus-Forschung

Europäische Länderberichte

Föderalismus und das Baskenland

Angela K. Bourne

S. 233-244

The Basque Country is a fragmented territory. It is divided by the borders of two states but also internally into seven provinces some of which represent distinct and long-standing self-governing districts. Nevertheless, common cultural traits, the most conspicuous of which is the Basque language (or Euskera), and the mobilizing efforts of the century-old Basque nationalist movement, have helped build a sense of cultural community and for many, nationhood. This article explores the impact of the federal idea both on efforts to accommodate demands for Basque self-government and the constitutional horizons of the still immensely influential Basque nationalist movement. It begins with a discussion of federal-type mechanisms, like the devolution of decision-making powers to sub-central units, used within Spain (and the Basque Country itself) to accommodate ethno-cultural difference. The second section explores how such mechanisms have contributed to efforts to normalise or pacify Basque politics. It argues that although it has provided a framework for Basque nation-building and (in the past) for a politics of consensus between Basque nationalists and non-Basque nationalists, it has not managed to draw extremist nationalists like ETA into democratic politics. The final section examines the imprint of the federal idea in Basque nationalist thought, concentrating particularly on its contemporary influence on the programme of the oldest and strongest Basque nationalist voice, the Partido Nacionalista Vasco.

Zitiervorschlag für diesen Artikel:
Bourne, Angela K. 2003: Föderalismus und das Baskenland, in: Europäisches Zentrum für Föderalismus-Forschung (Hrsg.): Jahrbuch des Föderalismus 2003. Föderalismus, Subsidiarität und Regionen in Europa, Baden-Baden: Nomos Verlagsgesellschaft, S. 233-244.