McGuggenisation? National identity and globalisation in the Basque country

This paper examines recent debates about the globalisation of cities and regions through a discussion of the recent opening of a Guggenheim Foundation art gallery in Bilbao. Through an analysis of the political context surrounding the project, I aim to explore the role of cities as crucibles for the negotiation of globalisation, and in particular how this relates to national identity.In the paper I set out several layered narratives which try to capture the significance of this event for Basque political identity. After discussing issues of globalisation, political strategy and European territorial restructuring, I explore the following: first, the process of ‘McGuggenisation’ and its consonance with ideas of global cultural imperialism; second, the ‘indigenisation’ of the Guggenheim by the Basque political elite, a strategic engagement with globalisation; third, the contestation of the museum by particularist radicalism.In summary, the Guggenheim event is seen as a collision between Basque extremism, modernising ‘bourgeois regionalism’, and the interests of a museum poised to become a global art corporation, providing a context for examining theories of globalisation in the European city.     

Good Tongues,Bad Tongues: Denunciation,Rumour and Revenge in the French Basque Country, 1943–1945

This article provides the first ethnographic study of denunciation and rumor during the Gernam Occupation and its aftermath. In one French Basque village, “a good tongues” accused a female shopkeeper of adultery, multiple denunciations and economic collaboration with the enemy. She, in turn, played wtth “public rumour”, a product of human communication and imagination that citizens constantly reshaped as they evaluated and responded to accusations of wrongdoing. By making public, oral denunciations to the Germans, the shopkeeper competed with a female arch rival in the Resistance.

Basques had their own traditional means of sanctioning moral treachery in their community. I show how one particular practice, La Jonchée, provided an anonymous, non‐violent alternative to female head‐shaving, carried out by men who wished to punish women for sexual collaboration.     

The bishop and the Basques: The diocese of Calahorra and the Basque provinces of Alava and Vizcaya under Bishop Rodrigo Cascante, 1147–1190

Under Bishop Rodrigo Cascante (1147–90), the northern Iberian diocese of Calahorra made its first significant administrative inroads into Alava and Vizcaya since its nominal assimilation of those Basque provinces around 1090. An examination into the fluctuating history of Calahorra's administrative penetration of its Basque provinces during this period highlights the extreme difficulty of this undertaking, which was severely hampered by the opposition of a strong Basque regional nobility. It also reveals a close connection between the fluctuations that characterized Calahorra's administrative fortunes north of the Ebro and the see's turbulent political context, defined by its position straddling a volatile frontier between Castile, Navarre and Aragon. Finally, it provides a useful opportunity to analyse Rodrigo Cascante's changing relationships with the secular powers that competed for the territory of his Riojan see. This analysis leads to the conclusion that the bishop of Calahorra was not a passive partner in these relationships, but actively adjusted his stance with respect to the crowns of Castile and Aragon, primarily in function of how well they did, or might, contribute to the realization of his Basque agenda.     

Fuelwood,crops and acorns from Iritegi cave (Oñati,Basque Country)

Abstract

We present the analyses of plant macroremains from Iritegi, a cave from Northern Iberia with archaeological levels dated from the Chalcolithic to the Iron Age. Wood charcoal assemblages are dominated throughout the sequence by Fraxinus. Other important taxa are Quercus subg. Quercus, followed by Corylus avellana, Fagus sylvatica, Ilex aquifolium, Taxus baccata and Ulmus. Acer, Alnus and Maloideae occur in very low numbers. The high percentages of Fraxinus are possibly result from the selection of ash for fodder. Evidence for the use of crops (Hordeum vulgare, Triticum aestivum/durum) comes only from the Chalcolithic contexts. The identification of acorns in one Chalcolithic hearth shows that roasting of these nuts was taking place maybe to improve taste and to facilitate further processing or to improve storage conditions. The results show that plant food gathering still played a role within the subsistence of farming human groups in the region.     

‘It broadens your view of being Basque’: identity through history,branding, and cultural policy

The purpose of the paper is to address what is the impact of the synthesis between Basque history, branding identity and Law 8/1994 on Basque identity in the homeland and Diaspora. Naturally occurring brands combine history, anthropology, sociology, and marketing to explain the phenomenon of communities defined by a sense of place. Focusing on both the Basque Country and Basques in Boise, Idaho as one case study, the authors discuss how the naturally occurring brand and cultural policy of the Basque people became formalized 20?years ago with Law 8/1994. The article addresses who the Basques are and how they have branded themselves through language, place, industry, food, drink, and culture. Similarities to other communities are explored so that other ethnic/cultural communities can learn from this Diaspora cultural policy discussion.     

Tacit coopetition: chimera or reality? Evidence from the Basque Country

Coopetition is a strategy by which firms benefit from both collaboration and competition. Collaboration among competitors allows these to obtain advantages such as the joint creation and diffusion of knowledge, the exploration of new market opportunities, the identification of long-term innovation projects related to potential market, product or process diversification, or the gaining of access to external sources while still competing in certain areas. This paper focuses on the concept of tacit coopetition, which is defined as cooperation activities between neighbouring competitors located in the same region. Our goal is to assess the influence of tacit coopetition on the cooperative pattern of firms, as an alternative to promoting innovative projects among competitors. The analysis is performed in the county of Durango, located in the Basque Country (Spain). In particular, we seek evidence of whether tacit coopetition is a reality that can be objectively observed in Durango, and therefore, has the potential for a wider generalization of the phenomenon, or is instead a conceptual rhetoric (i.e. chimera) that is only observable in specific cases. The paper provides three major results. First, it sets out to identify whether tacit coopetition is occurring in Durango. Second, it identifies the factors influencing it, and finally, assesses the impact of tacit coopetition on firm performance.     

Ally or competitor? Militant Basque nationalism's reaction to the new Spanish left

With the 2011 ceasefire declaration the Basque patriotic left (IA) has committed itself more firmly to constitutional politics. Concurrently, Spain has experienced an upsurge in the popularity of new political parties in the historically two party dominant general elections. The emergence of a political challenger on the left of the political spectrum (Podemos) may pose an opportunity or a threat to the IA's unilateral strategy, as the parties have numerous points of ideological concurrence. This paper analyses how the IA seeks to translate its strategies into mainstream constitutional politics, by exploring how it responds to the question posed by Podemos – ally, competitor, or both? Using an historical institutionalist approach, the conditions at two critical junctures – those surrounding the formation of new political parties during the democratic transition period and the more recent change in the electoral landscape – are compared to assess the initial impact of Podemos on IA cohesion.     

Citizenship,the Nation and the Race: China and the International Opium System, 1912–1931

This article analyzes China’s attempts to participate in and use the negotiations about reforming the international opium control system in the interwar period. China had a contentious relationship with the international opium control system from its creation in the International Opium Convention of 1912 through the League of Nations opium control system of the 1920s and 1930s. The Chinese government wanted to gain acceptance for China as a modern state no longer in need of tutelage from the international community. They also wanted to portray the Chinese people as a modern race as a way of undermining colonial opium monopolies, which made a disproportionate amount of their profits from sales to Overseas Chinese. While they were not fully successful in either of these efforts, China did manage to win some support, drawing the United States into closer agreement with China’s positions. Engagement with the international system also had a considerable impact on China’s domestic opium politics and its broader diplomatic relationship with the major powers.     

Gernika,Guernica, Guernica?: Contested meanings of a Basque place

The town of Gernika/Guernica is the center for meaning and territorial continuity of Basque nationalist identity. The town and its symbolism represent the history of national conflict with the Spanish state. It is also the focal point of local disagreements; within Basque nationalism itself and between regional urban centers. The town's significance in the Spanish Civil War, representation in Picasso's painting Guernica, and commemoration in the Americas by Basque emigrants has made it a globally significant place. The contest of meanings related to Gernika/Guernica underscores the significance of naming, monuments, ritual, resistance, oppression, and conflict in the creation and maintenance of national identities. In its examination of the politics of a Basque place, the joining of the forces of geography and history proves to be useful in the analysis of meaning in place- and time-specific political processes. From this perspective, the recent development from conflict toward harmony in Basque politics is reviewed.     

Reconstruction,Segregation, and Miscegenation: Interracial Marriage and the Law in the Lower South, 1865–1900

On the eve of Congressional Reconstruction, all seven states of the Lower South had laws against interracial marriage. During the Republican interlude that began in 1867–68, six of the seven states (all but Georgia) suspended those laws, whether through judicial invalidation or legislative repeal. Yet by 1894 all six had restored such bans. The trajectory of miscegenation laws in the Lower South between 1865 and 1900 permits a reconsideration of the range of possibilities the Reconstruction era brought to public policy. More than that, it forces a reconsideration of the origins of the Jim Crow South. Legally mandated segregation in public transit, as C. Vann Woodward observed in 1955, took hold late in the century. But such segregation in public education, as Howard R. Rabinowitz pointed out with his formula ‘from exclusion to segregation,’ originated during the first postwar years. Segregation on the marital front – universal at the start of the period and again at the end, but relaxed in most Lower South states for a time in between – combined the two patterns into yet a third. Adding another layer of complexity was the issue of where the color line was located, and thus which individuals were classified on each side of it.     

Theocracy,Eschatology, and the Ephemeral Church: Graham Ward and the “Crisis of Democracy”

This article offers a critical assessment of Graham Ward’s political theology and critique of modern democracy. Ward argues that modern democracy expresses a nihilistic metaphysics and lacks an adequate account of the embodiment of sovereignty within the social, with the result that it tacitly harbors totalitarianism. As an alternative, Ward advances a theocratic model of the social, with the aim of providing an account of the social embodiment of sovereignty lacking in democracy. The article argues that Ward is ultimately unsuccessful in this attempt. His eschatological focus separates the church from the world, undermining his account of the embodiment of sovereignty and reinforcing the very emptiness at the heart of the social his theology is intended to counter.     

Ideology and the by‐passing of the planning system: Case studies of Canary Wharf,London, and the Globe,Stockholm

This article explores the relationship between political ideology and planning in Britain and Sweden, with a particular emphasis on the by‐passing of the planning system. The prevailing ideology in each country over the last 10 years is outlined and the impact on planning identified. The argument is then given greater depth through case studies of two major projects. For Britain, this involves setting out the main features of Thatcherism and the way this has changed the purposes underlying planning and created a diversified planning system. This is followed by a case study of Canary Wharf. For Sweden, the consensus culture and the emphasis on participation and decentralization are discussed. The new planning legislation of 1987 is outlined. These aspects are then contrasted with the fiscal crisis and the development of ‘negotiation planning’. These themes are illustrated in the case study of the Globe in Stockholm.     

Louis XVI,the Court of the Tuileries,and the Corps Diplomatique 1789–91

The French Revolution sought to erect an edifice which would bridge the chasm between ancien regime realpolitik and a more idealistic vision of international relations based on natural law. The deputies of the Constituent Assembly, despite their noble intentions, failed to do so. They ended up hurtling into an all-too-familiar vortex, where appeals to natural law hid naked military aggression and strategic egocentrism. Whether this outcome was inevitable or contingent on circumstances continues to pose a dilemma for historical writing on the early Revolution. This article explores the question from the unmined perspective of the foreign Ambassadors resident in Paris during the French Revolution. It uses their unpublished despatches and French police reports to shed new light on the French Revolution's alienation from the international relations system of the ancien regime.     

“The producers on the one side,and the capitalists on the other”: Labor Reform,Slavery, and the Career of a Transatlantic Radical

Abstract

Through exploring the neglected career of John Campbell, an Irish-born Chartist refugee who ascended to a leadership role in the antebellum American labor movement, this article seeks to shed light on how revolutionary upheaval in Europe, debates over immigration, and sectional conflict affected working-class politics. Focusing on the period 1848 to 1851, and tracing Campbell's rapid evolution from a radical opponent of slavery to an ardent supporter of black subjugation, I argue that labor historians need to pay closer attention to shifting local and national contexts to understand the racial politics of labor agitators. Yet even as Campbell's views changed, his commitment to a producerist vision remained constant; by 1851 he had simply added people of African descent to a list of “idle” nonproducers who lived off the labor of workingmen. His proslavery twist on producer ideology suggests historians of antebellum social relations may need to go beyond interrogating the racial dimensions of artisan republicanism to gain a fuller understanding of the variety of working-class attitudes to race.     

Tzvetan Todorov,the ‘Responsible Intellectual’, and the new world disorder

This article assesses Tzvetan Todorov's intellectual evolution from structuralist literary critic to ‘responsible intellectual’. It contrasts his notion of the responsibility of the intellectual with traditional definitions of commitment, and analyses why for Todorov figures such as Camus, Aron, and Tillion are exemplary, whereas Communist intellectuals are not. The article examines Todorov's positions vis‐à‐vis current crises and controversies, including the bombing of Kosovo, the validity of the ICT, and America's war in Iraq. Finally, it discusses Todorov's ideas for a stronger and more independent Europe as articulated in his most recent book, Le Nouveau Désordre mondial.     

Lincoln,Race, and the Spirit of ’76

Abstract

This essay examines how Lincoln dealt with race, slavery, and emancipation in antebellum America. It argues that despite a few controversial statements and policies regarding black Americans, Lincoln sought to preserve the American union and its system of self-government by reclaiming the ideals of the Declaration of Independence. Unlike U.S. Senator Stephen A. Douglas, who exploited white bigotry in his promotion of local “popular sovereignty” as a solution to the slavery controversy, Lincoln highlighted the natural rights of blacks as a way to prevent the spread of slavery and thereby save what he would later call “the last best hope of earth.”