Overview

Drawing on extensive archival research at the UK National Archives, this volume examines how “London” (primarily British diplomats in Spain and officials at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office) perceived the radical Basque nationalist group ETA's campaign of violence from 1968 to 1993. In the summer of 1968, reports of the killing of a Spanish Guardia Civil officer by the then little-known ETA appeared in British diplomatic despatches. Over the next five decades, ETA would claim more than 850 lives. All the while, UK diplomats and officials gathered information and analysed ETA within the constantly changing, tumultuous sociopolitical context of Spain’s transition from dictatorship to democracy. This book offers a rare external perspective on what London often referred to as the “Basque problem”, while also shedding light on the relationship between ETA and the IRA, and the joint efforts by Madrid and London to confront their shared threat. ETA and the “Basque Problem” will appeal to students and scholars of Basque nationalism, contemporary Spanish history and terrorism studies.

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9781041039464

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Reviews

""Niall Cullen has written an authoritative, thoroughly researched account of how UK officials and diplomats increasingly viewed the 'Basque problem' to be constituted by ETA terrorism. Ensuring a wider readership, his focus extends to the bigger picture of British perspectives on Spain’s political evolution, from Franco to democracy."" Richard Gillespie, University of Liverpool, UK (emeritus) ""This original and timely book sheds new light on how British diplomats interpreted the 'Basque problem.' Drawing on rich archival sources, it offers a compelling external perspective on ETA’s campaign of terrorism, enriching the historiography of radical Basque nationalism."" Diego Muro, University of St Andrews, UK

Author Information

Niall Cullen is an Irish historian based in the Basque Country, Spain. He holds a PhD in Contemporary History from the University of the Basque Country and is the author of Radical Basque Nationalist–Irish Republican Relations: A History (2024).

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