ABSTRACT
Basque Country (“Pais Vasco”) in northern Spain is one of the most economically advanced regions in the country, has the greatest amount of financial and regional autonomy vis-à-vis the Spanish state, and for the last 15 years has experienced a profound physical revitalization of Bilbao, its largest and most important city. It is also a locale where militant violence in pursuit of Basque independence has been a part of the political dynamics for 30 years after the death of Franco.1 The conflict is not between two communities living side-by-side (such as Protestant unionists and Catholic republicans in Belfast), but rather between radical Basque nationalists and a Spanish state viewed with contempt as an
unwanted occupying force. Caught in the middle have been moderate nationalists who support greater Basque independence but reject militant violence.
