Collective action in the basque protest cycle: An analysis of the «Lizarra- Garazi» case (1995-2000)

Abstract

Processes of change usually appear to be linked with the development of collective action in protest movements. As far as our object of study is concerned, the Basque protest cycle heightened considerably in the second half of the 1990s, with collective action spreading among the authorities and parties to the conflict. The aim of this article is to explain the events that were involved in such a spread and their consequences. To this end, we will use the mechanisms and processes employed by Doug McAdam, Sidney Tarrow and Charles Tilly in the study of complex conflicts. In this regard, we will see how such resources involved in different types of conflicts played a crucial role in the phase characterised by the Lizarra-Garazi Agreement (1995-2000), both in the development of collective action and the changes wrought to institutional policies. However, the changes brought about were limited. The different paradigms used to understand the processes of transformation by the stakeholders involved would constitute one of the primary causes for this.