Resisting Terror: Civil Action and Non-violent Resistance to Terrorism in Basque Country

Civil resistance campaigns have led to some of the most important international developments in recent years, yet little is known of the role that civilian actors can play in challenging the use of violence by militant groups. This book examines the role that social mobilization in the Spanish region of Basque Country played in the decline and end of the Basque armed separatist group Euskadi Ta Askatasuna (ETA). For more than four decades, ETA waged a bloody campaign against the military and the Spanish and Basque police forces while causing a large number of civilian deaths. The Basque case demonstrates that civil resistance can work against terrorism, and this book will show that social mobilization is one of the factors that contributed to the failure of ETA's violent campaign. It reflects on how activism by the peace movement helped to delegitimise the armed struggle in society, explores the role civil society actors played in the construction of ideas that challenged ETA's political project, and highlights how civil resistance to the armed group undermined the prestige of militants and helped to limit the social reach of violent extremist narratives.

Resisting Terror raises awareness of the importance of collective action, not only against regimes but also non-state militants, and highlights the significance of civil activism as a tool to mitigate political violence.

Javier Argomaniz is a Senior Lecturer at the University of St Andrews' Centre for the Study of Terrorism and Political Violence (CSTPV). His research interests include non-violent resistance to political violence, international responses to terrorism, victimhood and radicalization, and victims' role in the prevention of conflict. He has published widely on the topics of state, non-state, and civilian responses to political violence and his work has featured in Terrorism and Political Violence, Studies in Conflict and Terrorism, Cooperation and Conflict, and Intelligence and National Security, among others.