Paradoxes of religion and terrorism

Bruce Lincoln (ed.). Religion, Rebellion, Revolution: An Interdisciplinary & Cross‐Cultural Collection of Essays. New York: St. Martin's Press, 1985. Pp.311. $35. ISBN 0–312–67061–3

Bruce Lincoln, Discourse and the Construction of Society: Comparative Studies of Myth, Ritual, and Classification. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1989. Pp.238, illus. ISBN 0–19–505757–0     

Relative Width and Height of Handwritten Letter

This is an exploratory study that analyzes the width and the height of letters in two texts written by each of the 21 writers analyzed. After detrending the linear, text, and allograph trends, we proceeded to comparing the sizes obtained in different texts. The different detrended series were compared by means of correlation and t‐test. According to the results regarding the width of letters, the texts of 19 of 21 writers correlated strongly, whereas the texts of two writers did not correlate with the limits of the threshold. With regard to the height of letters, texts written by between 18 and 21 writers of 21 writers correlated strongly, whereas texts that did not correlate were within the threshold value. Regarding both the width and the height of letters, of 21 writers, texts written by between 19 and 21 individuals were found to correlate strongly.     

How terrorism ends – and does not end: the Basque case

ABSTRACT

This article examines the end of ETA (Euskadi ta Askatasuna “Euskadi and Freedom”) in the light of the literature on “how terrorism ends”. Was it the result of police repression, defeat, negotiation, elimination, tactical success? Was it the result of military failure but not defeat? What role did the rebellion of its own social base play? Was it, in the end, a case of political transformation? The discourse of “unilateralism” developed by the Basque Nationalist Left is examined. The role of international actors and the so-called “virtual diplomacy” is situated in the context of the State and the global order. But did ETA really end? Four years after ETA declared its unconditional ceasefire, and after the international media considered it finished, the Spanish government does not think so. In conclusion, the article considers the lessons that derive from the Basque case regarding the issues of how terrorist groups end.     

At least democracy was not the issue: Basque parliamentarians during the making of the First Spanish Republic, 1873–74

The history of the European states in the nineteenth century relates to how processes of ‘parliamentarization’ took place that were not always accompanied by processes of ‘democratization’. This leads us to the following question: Was democracy their goal? A good example can be found in the political development of Spain from the 1868 revolution to 1874, a period that has been called the ‘Democratic Sexennium’. This revolution led Spain into a process that involved an attempt at democratization which culminated in the proclamation of the First Republic. The First Spanish Republic was based on a democratic parliament and constitution. In this article a prosopographic study is conducted of a specific group of parliamentarians – those from the Basque Country – who took part in the debates during the First Republic. The results of this study serve as a typical example of the participation of parliamentarians in democratization processes in the nineteenth century and they show the relationship between discourse and parliamentary practice in that period. Prosopographic analysis and the use of thematic prosopography enable us to ascertain the profile of those democratically elected parliamentarians and the issues that most concerned them. Additionally, the debate that emerged on the limits of democracy in wartime is highlighted, owing to the fact that Spain was immersed in a civil war during this period and the Spanish Parliament had to take decisions and act in adverse circumstances.