Ethno - nationalism and violence: The Cases of Catalonia and the Basque country

This study aims to survey the reasons for political violence in ethno-nationalist movements based on the comparison of ethnic nationalisms in Catalonia and the Basque Country. The study explains the reasons why the nationalist movement in the Basque Country evolved in radical nationalism containing political violence while the movement in Catalonia was peaceful despite violence at a slightly low level. The study focuses on the historical background and emergence of Catalan and Basque nationalisms, and the main reasons for political violence in terms of political, economic and socio-cultural aspects, respectively. This study, which focuses on the nationalist movements in Catalonia and the Basque Country regarding the relationship between ethno-nationalism and political violence, is a comparative study based on the modernist and ethno-symbolist approach. The study concludes that economic development level, authoritarian regime and state repression are not factors in explaining the resort to violence specifically in the given cases. It has been found that the ideological differences that characterize the nationalist movements in Catalonia and the Basque Country have prevailed since the beginning of the movements. The study also concludes that different social groups developed as a result of different economic development patterns, their relationship with the government, the political diversity in the regions, the core values of the nationalist ideology and cultural factors are effective in the emergence or nonemergence of political violence in nationalist movements. Keywords: Ethnonationalism, Ethnic Conflict, Political Violence, the Basque Country, Catalonia.