What Role Have Former ETA Terrorists Played in Counterterrorism and Counterradicalization Initiatives in Spain?

This article responds to the following research question: what role have former Euskadi Ta Askatasuna (ETA) members played in counterterrorism and counterradicalization initiatives vis-à-vis the terror group in Spain? Our analysis of the role played by former ETA members so far demonstrates that only a minority of former ETA terrorists have disengaged from the terrorist organization and at the same time voiced some criticism of their past violent activities. Such a step, although a positive one, is part of a process that in most of the cases analyzed has to be deemed as incomplete due to deficits, some of them very significant, which considerably limit their effectiveness in countering terrorism and radicalization.     

Political Ideology and Social Services Contracting: Evidence from a Regression Discontinuity Design

Theoretical perspectives on the ideological influences on government contracting predict that local governments controlled by right-wing political parties will contract out a higher proportion of services than those controlled by left-wing parties. However, empirical evidence on the impact of political ideology on contracting out remains inconclusive. To cast new light on this important issue, the authors apply a quasi-experimental research design to contracting choices in children's social services in English local government. Because local governments in England are largely divided along partisan lines, it is possible to estimate ideological effects using a regression discontinuity design that captures changes in political control at 50 percent of the seats gained in local elections. The regression discontinuity estimates reveal that left-wing controlled local governments exhibit a marked aversion to private sector involvement in service provision and a clear preference for in-house service provision. These results are robust to a variety of alternative specifications.     

X-linked microsatellites in two Northern Spain populations

The X-chromosomal microsatellites HPRTB, DXS101, ARA, DXS7423, and DXS8377 were analysed by a pentaplex PCR in an expanded population sample from Cantabria and an independent sample of unrelated individuals from the Basque Country. Allele frequencies showed similar distributions, but minor variations were found for some loci.     

The Madrid Bombings and Negotiations With ETA: A Case Study of the Impact of Terrorism on Spanish Politics

This article analyzes the impact that two terrorism-related matters had on Spanish politics and electoral processes in the country. First, the article analyzes the terrorist attacks perpetrated by jihadists on March 11, 2004, three days before Spain's general election. The indiscriminate, lethal attacks caused a state of shock in the country, brought the election campaign to a sudden end, and led to the defeat of the party in power. Second, the article analyzes the negotiations entered into with the ETA terrorist organization by the new government during its first term, from 2004 to 2008. This controversial step, upheld by the Spanish government despite massive opposition by civil society and the main opposition party, failed to bring about the end of ETA. Both the Madrid attacks and the negotiations with ETA were responsible for the breakdown of the consensus in regard to terrorism that had existed among the main Spanish political parties. The article analyzes how both events generated an unprecedented level of polarization and tension among political parties and society from 2004 to 2008, and how each event had a different impact on the general elections held during that period. The period under examination provides an example of adversarial politics; terrorism was highly influenced by the management of both events by the main political players.     

The demography of the industrialized province of biscay in northern spain

This article examines the profound social and demographic effects of industrialization and modernization on the province of Biscay in northern Spain. Careful analysis of household listings and census results for the years (1825), 1900, and 1930 for three representative regions of the province—the capital Bilbao, the new industrial center of Baracaldo, and a selection of rural communities—shows the profound effects of industrial immigration to the area on fertility and mortality patterns, nuptiality behaviors, and household structures. In addition, the accumulated changes left a socio-cultural division in the province between a modernized urban–industrial and a traditional rural region—a division that was strongly felt well into the twentieth century.     

Why Do Terrorists Stop? Analyzing Why ETA Members Abandon or Continue with Terrorism

This article analyzes the factors that have motivated members of Euskadi Ta Askatasuna (ETA) to abandon terrorism and the factors that have motivated other members of the terrorist organization to maintain their activism. The article examines the process of disengagement of an important faction of ETA and that of other terrorists throughout the group's protracted campaign in order to explain the reasons behind the decision to give up violence. The article concludes with an analysis of the variables that should be considered in order to encourage the collective disengagement of the group that has become the most enduring terrorist organization in Europe.     

Las funciones de los consejeros independientes de las sociedades en México: Recomendaciones para el cambio a partir de las asimetrías existentes entre la práctica y la ley

The legal notion of an independent board member was introduced to the Mexican legislation in 2005. The goal was to improve the corporate governance of the corporations listed on the stock exchange. It was thought that including the independent board members would help to better represent the interest of the minority holders, as well as to increase the level of accountability. This article challenges these ideas based on 10 interviews carried out with independent board members. It finds that what the law says is far from what actuatly occurs: they lack of an adequate level of knowledge to perform their tasks, their degree of independence is severely limited by the criteria used to appoint them and they usually ignore essential corporate information, which impede them from participating effectively in the board sessions. The article suggests the creation of an independent board member’s association, a mechanism that, along with a mandatory certification system, would improve the way in which they perform their duties.     

PROGRAMME CIHAE/ICHRPI – PROGRAM ICHRPI/CIHAE

SUMMARY

In this article a set of sources and methodology are presented for analyzing contemporary Parliaments, based on a case study focusing on the representatives of some of the different parliamentary chambers constituted during the period of the Spanish Transition (1977–82). The use of oral sources is emphasized in particular, since a sound understanding and management of these historiographical sources is a requirement set by the specific characteristics of what is known as the history of the present, in order to obtain information for its study. Moreover, oral history sources acquire a greater degree of importance in this study, as they form a vital element for the broadest possible form of micro-biographies of parliamentarians that will later allow for an in-depth prosopographical study.