Secondary foreign policy activities in Third sector cross-border cooperation as conflict transformation in the European Union: The cases of the Basque and Irish borderscapes

ABSTRACT

This paper provides a comparative examination of Third (non-public, non-profit) sector cross-border cooperation contributing to conflict transformation in the Basque (France/Spain) and Irish (UK/Ireland) borderscapes. The comparison is based on the premise that the European Union (EU) played a different role in both cases. In the Irish case, the EU contributed to the institutionalization of a peace process that included cross-border cooperation between Third sector organizations among its policy instruments contributing to conflict transformation. In the Basque case, the unilateral renunciation of violence by ETA (Euskadi eta Askatasuna) in 2010 did not generate the consistent involvement of the EU in an institutional peace process. However, some Third sector organizations became secondary foreign policy actors using EU instruments for cross-border economic, social, and cultural cooperation between France and Spain in order to reinforce their cross-border networks, which indirectly impacted on conflict transformation.

KEYWORDS:

• European Union
• borderscapes
• cross-border cooperation
• identity politics
• Third sector
• Ireland
• Basque Country
• conflict transformation

Acknowledgements

This research collaboration associates the Centre Emile Durkheim at Sciences Po Bordeaux and the School of History, Anthropology, Philosophy and Politics at Queen’s University, Belfast. It is an output of the research project Transfrontier network governance? Third sector experiences in the border regions of the UK and France – Aquitaine Region-Sciences Po Bordeaux. The authors thank Birte Wassenberg, Martin Klatt, and the anonymous reviewers for their comments and suggestions.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes

1. The Basque borderscape comprises the French Basque region, which is part of the department of the Pyrénées-Atlantiques, and the Spanish Basque areas belonging to the Basque Autonomous Community and to the Foral Community of Navarra. The Irish borderscape comprises of local authority areas, North and South, that are contiguous to the border.

2. Network governance is ‘public policy making and implementation through a web of relationships between government, business and civil society actors’ (Klijn and Skelcher, 2007, p. 587).

3. ‘Cross-sectoral’ includes public, private, trade union and the Third sectors. ‘Multilevel’ includes local, regional, national, and supranational levels of governance.

4. Euskadi ta Askatasuna, Basque Country and Freedom.

5. Basque nationalist.

6. The institutions provided by the 1998 Agreement include the NSMC and six North South Implementation Bodies with managerial responsibility for food safety (SafeFood), minority languages (Language Body consisting of two agencies, Foras na Gaeilge and Tha Boord o Ulster-Scotch), trade and business development (InterTrade Ireland), aquaculture (Loughs Agency), waterways (Waterways Ireland), and EU Programmes (SEUPB). Tourism Ireland Ltd is a semi-official body was also established to promote the island as a tourist destination.

7. East–West, British-Irish institutions – the British-Irish Intergovernmental Conference and the British-Irish Council – were also provided by the Good Friday Agreement.

8. Interview, Biharko Lurraren Elkartea (Association of French Basque organic farmers), 2013.

9. Interviews, ICB and OPLB, 2016.

10. Article 14, Statuts du GECT Aquitaine-Euskadi, 12 December 2011.

11. Interview, Director of Seaska, Bayonne, 2013.

12. See http://www.louthnewryarchives.ie (accessed 22/04/2016).

13. http://healingthroughremembering.info/images/uploads/HTR_annual_report_2010.pdf (accessed 29/05/2016).

14. Interview, municipality community of Garazi, 2013.

15. Interview, municipality of Banca, 2013.

16. Interview, Dundalk, 22 May 2007.

17. http://www.conservativehome.com/parliament/2016/04/theresa-mays-speech-on-brexit-full-text.html (accessed 18/01/2017).

18. Interview, Government of Navarra, 2013.

Additional information

Funding

The authors acknowledge support generated by the research project EUBORDERSCAPES [290775], 2012–16, which was funded by the European Commission under the 7th Framework Programme (FP7-SSH-2011-1), Area 4.2.1 The evolving concept of borders.