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Economic Changes and Surges in Micro-Nationalist Voting in Scotland and the Basque Region of Spain

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  03 June 2009

Cyrus Ernesto Zirakzadeh
Cyrus Ernesto Zirakzadeh
Affiliation:
University of Connecticut
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Extract

I During the 1970s, residents in Scotland and the Basque region of Spain began to vote in large numbers for nationalist candidates. Almost overnight the Scottish National Party and a collection of three Basque parties became important electoral forces, expanding their shares in general elections by more than 15 percent of all ballots cast (see Tables 1 and 2).

Type
The Traditions of Populist Politics
Information
Comparative Studies in Society and History , Volume 31 , Issue 2 , April 1989 , pp. 318 - 339
Copyright
Copyright © Society for the Comparative Study of Society and History 1989

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References

1 Convenient descriptions of the Scotland's economy can be found in Harvie, Christopher, No Gods and Precious Few Heroes, Scotland, 1914–1980 (London: Edward Arnold, 1981)Google Scholar, chs. 2, 6; Brand, Jack, The National Movement in Scotland (London: Routledge and Kegan Paul, 1978)Google Scholar, ch. 5; Scottish Capitalism, Dickson, Tony, ed., (London: Lawrence and Wishart, 1980)Google Scholar; Lythe, Charlotte and Majmudar, Madhavi, The Renaissance of the Scottish Economy? (London: George Allen and Unwin, 1982)Google Scholar; and the survey sections of The Economist: 02 21, 1970, i-xlviii; 07 26, 1975, 1–56Google Scholar; and February 18, 1978, 1–35. For descriptions of the Basque economy, see Cortazar, Fernando García de and Montero, Manuel, Historia contemporanea del País Vasco (San Sebastián: Editorial Txertoa, 1980), 55–97Google Scholar; Estructura socioeconómica del País Vasco (Bilbao: Cámara de Comercio, Industria, y Navegación de Bilbao, 1977)Google Scholar; Crespo, Milagros García, Barroetabeña, Roberto Velasco, and Gorostiaga, Arantza Mendizabal, La Economía vasca durante el franquismo (Crecimiento y crisis de la economía vasca: 1936–1980) (Bilbao: Editorial de la Gran Enciclopedia Vasca, 1981)Google Scholar; the special issues on the Basque economy in Información Comercial Española, combined No. 467–468, 06 1972, and No. 598, 06 1983; and The Economist, 03 17, 1979, 89–90, and 04 10, 1982, 72–73.Google Scholar

2 The Economist, 02 18, 1978Google Scholar, Scotland survey, 7; Lythe and Majmudar, The Renaissance of the Scottish Economy?, op cit.Google Scholar, 161; Azpiazu, P, Galarroga, X, and Leoz, V, “Panorámica reciente del comercio exterior de la Comunidad Autónoma del País Vasco,” Información Comercial Española, No. 598, 06, 1983, 74.Google Scholar

3 Rawkins, Phillip M., “Outsiders as Insiders: The Implications of Minority Nationalism in Scotland and Wales,” Comparative Politics, 10:4 (1974), 528.Google Scholar

4 Euzkadi, 16 (01 15, 1982), 12.Google Scholar

5 The Economist (02 21, 1970) Scotlad survey, xxxíí; (February 18, 1978) Scotl??d survey, 8.Google Scholar

6 Euskadi 1982 (Donostia: Egin, 1983)Google ScholarPubMed, 168; Table 3 of this study. See also Irigoien, Josu, “E1 desempleo en el País Vasco,” Revista de Fomento Social, 36 (1982), 321.Google Scholar

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9 Lípset is explicit about his theoretical indebtedness to Aristotle in Political Man, op. cit., 459–69. See also 31 and vii-viii.Google Scholar

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11 Ibid., 203.

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15 Among the scholars who, when analyzing Basque nationalism, have stressed the prosperity of the Basque region are Bogdanor, Vernon, Connor, Walker, and Linz, Juan. Bogdanor, Vernon, “Ethnic Nationalism in Western Europe,” in Political Studies, 30:2 (06, 1982), 287, 290CrossRefGoogle Scholar; Connor, Walker, “Eco- or Ethno-nationalism?” in Ethnic and Racial Studies, 7:3 (07, 1984) 349CrossRefGoogle Scholar; Linz, Juan J., “The Basques in Spain: Nationalism and Political Conflict in a New Democracy,” in Resolving Nationality Conflicts: The Role of Public Opinion Research, Davison, W. Phillips and Gordenker, Leon, eds. (New York: Praeger, 1980), 13–14Google Scholar; and Linz, Juan J., Reino, Manuel Gómez, Orizo, Francisco A., and Vila, Darío, Conflicto en Euskadi, Estudio sociológico sobre el cambio politico en el Pais Vasco 1975–1980 (Madrid: Espasa Calpe, 1986), 58.Google Scholar

16 Rapado, José Ramón, “Migraciones y la evolución de la ocupación Espa˜ola,” Revista Española de Investigaciones Sociológicas, No. 22 (04-06, 1983), 79.Google Scholar

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20 Aleu, , “Política industrial en la Comunidad Autónoma,” op. cit., 67.Google Scholar

21 Vasco, Partido Nacionalista, Planteamientos politico, socio-económico, y cultura: Documentos de la Asamblea Nacional, Marzo 1977 (Bilbao: Editorial GEU, 1977), 62–142Google Scholar. Parenthetically, , the Nationalists' platform for the 1980 regional elections opened with the statement, “The economic situation which is piercing our country has become possibly the most important of all the areas of activity which a future Basque Government must undertake.”Google Scholar

22 Euzkai: Boletín informativo del Partido Nacionalista Vasco, 2 (11, 1976), 12 (02 27, 1977); 15 (03 16, 1977); 30 (06, 1977).Google Scholar

23 Ibid., 7 (January 16, 1977); 10 (February 9, 1977), 11 (February 16, 1977); 12 (February 27, 1977); 13 (March 2, 1977).

24 This series of books was entitled Aransa: Material de debate teórico y político, and was published by the Basque Left.

25 See, for example, the covers of booklets distributed by Langille Abertzale Iraultzalean Alderdia (Patriotic Revolutionary Workers Party) and Herriko Alderdi Sozíalísta Iraultzalea (Popular Revolutionary Party).

26 See, for example, the advertisements for candidates of the United People Coalition in Punto y Hora.

27 Deia, (08 6, 1977Google Scholar) and (July 11, 12, 1979); Clark, Robert P., The Basque Insurgents: ETA, 1952–1980 (Madison: University of Wisconsin Press, 1984), 19.Google Scholar

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29 Revista Española de Investigaciones Sociológicas, 18 (04-06, 1982), 173; 19 (07-09, 1982), 151, 187; 20 (10-12, 1982), 205.Google Scholar

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31 For discussions of language as a basis of Basque nationalism, see Clark, Robert P., The Basques: The Franco Years and Beyond (Reno: University of Nevada Press, 1979)Google Scholar, ch. 6; Linz, “The Basques in Spain,” op. cit., 30–34Google Scholar; Clark, Robert P., “Language and Politics in Spain's Basque Provinces,” West European Politics, 4:1 (1981), 85–105CrossRefGoogle Scholar; and Shabad, Goldíe and Gunther, Richard, “Language, Nationalism, and Political Conflict in Spain,” Comparative Politics, 14:4 (1982) 443–77.CrossRefGoogle Scholar

32 For analyses of the rival ideological currents within the Scottish National Party, see Brand, , The National Movement in Scotland, op. cit., Pt. 3Google Scholar; Mansbach, Richard W., “The Scottish National Party: A Revised Political Profile,” Comparative Politics, Vol. 5:2 (01, 1973), 185–210CrossRefGoogle Scholar; Drucker, Henry M., “Crying Wolfe: Recent Divisions in the SNP,” Political Quarterly, 50:4 (10-12, 1979), 503–08CrossRefGoogle Scholar; and The Economist: 10 24, 1970: 22, 24; 09 28, 1974: 32–33; September 1, 1979: 22–23; and 09 22, 1979: 28; and 05 7, 1983: 66, 69.Google Scholar

33 For descriptions of the Scottish National Party's economic planks and specific policy recommendations, see Fusaro, Anthony, “Two Faces of British Nationalism: The Scottish National Party and Plaid Cymru Compared,” Polity, 11:3 (1979), 362–86CrossRefGoogle Scholar; Grasmuck, Sherri, “Ideology of Ethnoregionalism: The Case of Scotland,” Politics and Society, 9:4 (1980), 47–94CrossRefGoogle Scholar; Mansbach, , “The Scottish National Party,” op. cit., 196–197Google Scholar; and The Economist: 09 28, 1974, 32.Google Scholar

For samples of survey results, see the annual editions of Index to International Public Opinion (Westport: Greenwood Press), for the following years: 1978–1979: 38–39; 1980–1981: 121; and 1981–1982: 145–46, 146–47.

35 Brand, , The National Movement in Scotland, op. cit., 139–43, 287–88Google Scholar; Harvie, Christopher, Scotland and Nationalism: Scottish Society and Politics, 1707–1977 (London: George Allen and Unwin, 1977), 222–26, 248, and ch. 7, passim.CrossRefGoogle Scholar

36 Dickson, , ed., Scottish Capitalism, op. cit., 294Google Scholar; The Economist: 04 19, 1975, 18; and 07 26, 1975, 42 of the “Survey: North Sea Oil.”Google Scholar

37 Connor, , “Eco- or Ethno-nationalism?”, op. cit.Google Scholar

38 See, for example, Gourevitch's brief discussion of the different ways in which the “strength” of nationalist movements can be assessed, ranging from the frequency of street demonstrations to the frequency of acts of violence. Peter Alexis Gourevitch, “The Reemergence of ‘Peripheral Nationalisms’: Some Comparative Speculations on the Spatial Distribution of Political Leadership and Economic Growth,” Comparative Studies in Society and History, 21:3 (07, 1979), 304.Google Scholar

39 For example: Gourevitch, “The Reemergence of ‘Peripheral Nationalisms’,” op. cit., 303–22;Google ScholarHorowitz, Donald L., “Patterns of Ethnic Separatism,” Comparative Studies in Society and History, 23:2 (04, 1981), 165–95CrossRefGoogle Scholar; Hechter, Michael, Internal Colonialism: The Celtic Fringe in British National Development, 1536–1966 (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1975)Google Scholar; Hechter, Michael, “On Separatism and Ethnicity: A Response to Sloan's ‘Ethnicity or Imperialism?’,” Comparative Studies in Socie? and History, 21:1 (01, 1979), 126–29.CrossRefGoogle Scholar

4 O See, for example, Hechter, , Internal Colonialism, op. cit., 9–13, 316, 327–40, 344Google Scholar; and “On Separatism and Ethnicity,” op. cit., 127.Google Scholar

41 In drawing this broad distinction between the economic interpretation used in this paper (inspired by the ideas of Lipset, Nairn, Wallerstein, and Rawkíns) and other recent economic interpretations of micro-nationalist politics, I do not wish to suggest that any one economic interpretation is inherently “truer” than any other. Rather, different interpretations can be used to answer fundamentally different sorts of questions. For example, many scholars, such as Gourevítch and Hechter, are preoccupied with understanding where micro-nationalist movements occur (for example, why in Scotland, but not Vermont?). To account for the location of micronationalist movements, the relative development of a region within a nation-state seems to be relevant (although it is not the whole story, as most scholars who expound economic interpretations of micro-nationalist politics concede).

I, however, am more interested in understanding when micro-nationalist politics become popular (why, for example, during the 1970s and not the late 1950s?). I believe international market fluctuations can provide clues as to the timing of surges in the popularity of micronationalist movements. However, I am dubious about whether the economic “backwardness” or “forwardness” of a region (vis-à-vis other regions) within a nation-state can, by itself, tell us much about when short-term surges and/or declines in the popularity of micro-nationalist movements occur. Perhaps most people who utilize a theory of “uneven development” within a nation-state also do not believe that their economic interpretation can account for the timing of micro-nationalist movements (see, for example, Hechter, , “On Separatism and Ethnicity,” op. cit., 127).Google Scholar

The reasoning behind my skepticism is straightforward: Whereas the popularity of micronationalist movements can rise and fall rapidly, the comparative “backwardness” or “forwardness” of a region (vis-á-vis other regions) in a nation-state usually changes very gradually. Therefore, this relatively fixed economic circumstance logically cannot account for short-term fluctuations in the popularity of micro-nationalist politics. If an economic interpretation of the timing of popularly supported micro-nationalist movements is to be attempted, other more rapidly changing economic circumstances, such as contemporary oscillations in business cycles and international market conditions, ought to be considered.