Women defining terrorism: ethnonationalist, state, and machista terrorism

Abstract

This article explores definitions of terrorism according to various women in the Basque regions of Spain and France. We ask how women in social movements and government institutions define terrorism, how terrorism influences them, and whether they are viewed as victims of violence and/or as political agents who challenge terrorism. We discuss three definitions of terrorism: ethnonationalist terrorism of ETA (Euskadi Ta Askatasuna), state terrorism against ETA operatives and supporters, and terrorismo machista (or intimate terrorism seen as gender violence). The article uncovers multiple women’s lived experiences related to terrorism, and by problematising agency and definitions of terrorism, it challenges the binary in international relations of women as either victims or violent perpetrators of terrorism and it establishes terrorismo machista as political violence closely related to other forms of political violence. We conclude that women are important political agents regarding multiple types of terrorism.

Keywords:

• ethnonationalist terrorism
• state terrorism
• machista terrorism
• gender
• Basque Country

Notes

1. Researchers investigate why women commit acts of terror. Reasons for women’s participation in terrorism range from political and economic motivations – typical motivations of all terrorists – to motivations seemingly particular to women, such as emotional reactions to the loss of loved ones (Bloom 2011; see also Cragin and Daly 2009; Gonzalez-Perez 2008). Sjoberg, Cooke, and Neal critique these accounts for being “culture-insensitive” and essentialist, given that women terrorists across the globe experience diverse social structures and gender relations, leading to contextualised motivations (Sjoberg, Cooke, and Neal 2011, 13).

2. We bring personal experiences to this research. Candice Ortbals has lived in various parts of Spain at times over the last decade and has followed the gender violence debates in Spain. Thus, she was aware of terrorismo machista and easily recognised its intersections with the Basque case. Both researchers, having lived in Spain before, were aware of ETA threats and debates surrounding ethnonationalist terrorism. Working for several years in France and living for several months in San Sebastian, Spain, in the Basque Country, sensitised Lori Poloni-Staudinger to the Martin case and to the actions of prisoner’s rights groups. Thus, we knew to look to these groups because of her experience.

3. The other women were Sonsoles Álvarez de Toledo and Isabel O’Shea.

4. The children of most ETA mortal victims are now adults in the organisations as are the victims from the 11 March 2004 Al Qaeda attack.

5. An exception is the victims of the 11 March 2004 attack who have greater political affiliation with the Left.

6. He did not face justice until the late 1990s, and is serving a sentence of 27 years in jail.

7. Another woman temporarily led this ministry for two months in the previous administration upon the resignation of the permanent minister; thus Beltrán de Heredia was the first woman to lead this ministry in a permanent capacity.

8. All personal interviews are anonymous given that they were conducted when ETA was an active force in the region. We ensured anonymity because we did not want to expose our respondents to greater threats of terrorism.

9. This claim is most strongly levelled against the Spanish state.

10. ETA’s permanent ceasefire occurred in late 2011. This administration constituted the first non-nationalist one to lead the Basque region since Spain’s democratic transition (1978–1982).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Candice D. Ortbals

Candice D. Ortbals is an Associate Professor of Political Science at Seaver College of Pepperdine University. Her research primarily centres upon gender and politics, and she is the recent author, with Lori Poloni-Staudinger, of Terrorism and Violent Conflict: Women’s Agency, Leadership, and Responses (2012, Springer Press). She has also published journal articles in International Studies Quarterly, Politics & Gender, Publius, Social Movement Studies, and PS: Political Science and Politics.

Lori Poloni-Staudinger

Lori Poloni-Staudinger, PhD, is an Associate Professor and Chair in the Department of Politics and International Affairs at Northern Arizona University. She specialises in citizen participation, at the individual and group levels, and contention, particularly in democratic or newly democratic settings. Much of her work looks at gender in various contexts. She is the recent author, with Candice D. Ortbals, of Terrorism and Violent Conflict: Women’s Agency, Leadership and Responses (2012, Springer Press).