Terrorism, legitimacy and militancy: A discursive analysis on ETA

Abstract

The following article analyzes the evolution and scope of ETA’s political violence and terrorism based on in-depth interviews with prominent members of the terrorist organization. It seeks to address the discursive instruments on the legitimization of violence and its understanding in the evolution of decades of terrorism. Among others, this work also analyzes the factors that weakened ETA’s social support. Finally, these pages explore the retrospective interpretation of violence and the future political scenarios of the Basque Country. In conclusion, it is possible to find a deep orthodoxy when it comes to accepting and legitimizing the use of violence, although with certain contradictions and feeling of bitterness. Thus, it is an important contribution to a specialized literature that mostly ignores the terrorist narratives and that when it incorporates it, it does so from positions of regret or from an excessive proximity to the structure of ETA.