A Rebellious People-Basques Protests And Politics - Hardcover

Zirakzadeh, Cyrus Ernesto

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0874171733 ISBN 13: 9780874171730

Publisher: University of Nevada Press, 1991

Synopsis

In this scholarly work, Zirakzadeh argues that there is a calculated reasoning behind ETA's political violence that is often overlooked by researchers. His book is a comprehensive account of the Basque region's grassroots politics.

About this title

Synopsis:

Combining insights from historical analysis with the collective-action school of political sociology, Cyrus Zirakzadeh argues that there was a calculative, instrumental dimension to the behaviour of the Basque revolutionary group, ETA, that scholars too often neglect. This work elaborates on the social and economic concerns of members of ETA and the Basque Nationalist Party, recounts debates within ETA over the political effectiveness of armed struggle, and discusses the influence of local social movements and nationalist and non-nationalist ideologies on "etarras'" (ETA members) thinking. Members of ETA first engaged in political violence in 1961. The number of armed attacks rose steadily throughout the 1970s and thereafter gradually declined. Why the violence? Were the bombings, killings and kidnappings simply responses to an inert Spanish government disconnected from material interests? Did "etarras" attack impulsively without systematic thought to achievable aims and specific economic change? A comprehensive account of the region's grass-roots politics, this volume will supply answers to students of Basque society.

About the Author:

Cyrus Ernesto Zirakzadeh received his Masters degree from Stanford University and his doctorate from the University of California at Berkeley. He has taught at the University of Connecticut since 1985, where he holds the title of Professor of Political Science. He has penned more than a dozen essays for edited books and professional journals and has authored four books. Zirakzadeh, whose research interests include political thought in literature, is currently co-editing his first anthology, a collection of essays on the political experiences and vision of John Steinbeck.

About this edition

• Publisher: University of Nevada Press
• Publication date: 1991
• ISBN 10: 0874171733
• ISBN 13: 9780874171730
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 272