Mémoire graphique et conflit: La violence de l’ETA dans le neuvième art

After 40 years of violence and a thousand deaths, Euskadi Ta Askatasuna (ETA) accepted a political and democratic solution to the Basque conflict in 2011. Nine years on, the main questions that remain to be solved are first, the status of ETA prisoners and second, the question of the memory of the conflict. This last question has not only invaded the political and media space, but also that of literary, cinematographic and artistic creation, such as comics. Thanks to the theories developed by McCloud (1994) and Groensteen (2011) about comics’ language and Catalá Carrasco, Drinot & Scorer (2019) or Delorme (2019) about comics and memory, this article analyses the representation of the violence in the Basque Country in four comics and shows that the armed conflict has morphed into a memory conflict.

Relatar desde el margen: género, identidad sexual e infancia en la literatura acerca del conflicto vasco

RESUMEN El conflicto vasco ha atravesado la literatura vasca contemporánea de manera radical. Desde el año 1976 hasta el año 2000, la novela en euskera, salvo en contadas excepciones, ha representado el conflicto a través de masculinidades hegemónicas identificadas tanto positivamente como negativamente con eta. A partir del año 2000, sin embargo, el corpus novelístico en euskera se vuelve cada vez más polifónico. Las tres novelas analizadas en este artículo son muestra de esta nueva manera de relatar: en ellas, el núcleo de la novela no es eta ni sus acciones, sino que se desliza a otros márgenes. Así, las mujeres (Lagun izoztua/‘El amigo congelado’), las identidades sexuales no heteronormativas (Ezinezko maletak/Las maletas imposibles) y los niños y adolescentes (Gerra txikia/La pequeña guerra) pasan a formar parte del relato del conflicto. LABURPENA Euskal gatazkak alderik alde zeharkatu du euskal literatura garaikidea. 1976 eta 2000 urteak bitarte, euskarazko nobelagintzak etarekin positiboki zein negatiboki identifikatutako maskulinitate hegemonikoen bidez irudikatu du gatazka. Alabaina, 2000. urteaz geroztik, euskarazko nobelen corpusa geroz eta polifonikoagoa bilakatuz joan da. Artikulu honetan aztertutako hiru nobelak narratzeko modu berri honen adierazle dira: eleberrion muina ez da ez eta ezta bere ekintzak ere, beste bazter batzuetara lerratu da. Horrela, Lagun izoztua-n emakumezkoak, Ezinezko maletak-en sexu identitate ez heteronormatiboak eta Gerra txikia-n haurrak eta nerabeak errelatoaren parte izatera pasa dira. ABSTRACT The Basque conflict has crossed contemporary Basque literature in a radical way, not only as a literary topic. From 1976 to 2000, the novel in Basque, with few exceptions, has portrayed the conflict through hegemonic masculinities, which were identified positively or negatively with eta. From 2000 onwards, however, basque novels have become increasingly polyphonic. The three novels analyzed in this article are examples of this new way of telling: in them, the core of the novel is not eta or its actions, but slips to other margins. Thus, women (Lagun izoztua/‘The frozen friend’), non-heteronormative sexual identities (Ezinezko maletak/‘Impossible suitcases’) and children and adolescents (Gerra txikia/‘The little war’) become part of the narrative of the conflict.

On identity issues as the starting point for normative conflict analysis

<p>In the current context of globalization, it has become apparent that identity issues are a key aspect leading to conflict. However, I argue that the extent to which identity issues are an underlying cause of conflict is more nuanced and more encompassing than generally acknowledged. Analysing conflict from an identity issues framework can help us shift our focus from the endpoint of conflict to the normative nature of the conflict itself. I will then use this framework of analysis to set out an initiative for the Basque conflict in order to illustrate the efficiency of this approach. I also hope to provide insight into how institutions working on identity issues related to multiculturalism can realize their potential and have a broader impact in civil society.</p><p><strong>Received</strong>: 23 April 2018<br /><strong>Accepted</strong>: 13 October 2018<br /><strong>Published online</strong>: 11 December 2018</p>

From militant voices to militant irony: Examining identity, memory and conflict in the Basque country

Collective memory and identity so often go hand in hand with conflicts. Alongside the use of violence, conflicts unfold against the backdrop of different narratives about the past through which groups constantly remind themselves of the supposed origin of the conflict, and consequently, what position individuals are expected to take as members of the group. Narratives – as symbolic tools for interpreting the past and the present, as well as happenings that have yet to occur – simultaneously underpin, and are underpinned by, the position held by each warring faction. Drawing on previous works, this paper compares different versions of the 2016 truce period in the Basque Country stemming from three subjects identified, to varying degrees, with the main political actors involved in that conflict. These three cases have been selected from a total of 16 participants who were asked to define the Basque conflict and to provide an account of the 2006 truce period by using 23 documents taken from different Spanish newspapers. On the one hand, the results show two narratives reproducing the versions of two of the main political actors involved in the conflict, and on the other hand, a narrative characterized by a more personal and ironic appropriation of those versions. Results are discussed vis-à-vis the use of irony in history teaching in increasingly plural societies.

The analysis of Basque conflict and ETA in the 1990s: The kidnapping of Miguel Angel Blanco

Since the fall of the Franco’s regime in Spain, the Spanish governments have been dealing with the low-intensity conflict in their country, namely the Euskadi Ta Askatusuna (ETA) attacks. This article analyzes the Basque conflict within the framework of the conflict analysis and resolution perspective. First, it highlights the conflict issues among the Basque conflict parties. Second, it clarifies the conflict issues by focusing on kidnapping and assassination done by the ETA during 1990s. The special case of Miguel Angel Blanco who was a local Basque councilman is a case study. In order to shed light on the Blanco case, it is necessary to focus the conflict resolution dynamics of the Basque conflict. Third, the paper aims to examine the Blanco case in terms of conflict issue identification, conflict issue clarification, and conflict cultural analysis perspectives. The issue identification perspective focuses on identity, face, and instrumental issues of the Basque conflict. The issue clarification perspective concentrates on two conflicting parties’ perceptions and positions in the conflict. The cultural analysis perspective mainly attempts to analyze the cross-cultural differences between ETA and the Spanish government. Based on the analysis of Miguel Angel Blanco, this study concludes that it is necessary to reframe, re-identify and re-clarify the Basque conflict within the framework of conflict and peace studies.