2021/09/01 by Julieta Gaztañaga · 1 citation
Social Sciences · Arts and Humanities · #Education, sociology, and vocational training #French Urban and Social Studies #Cultural Identity and Heritage
paper · pdf · doi:10.3167/sa.2021.650302
The literature about Basque politics and the anthropology of sovereignty often define the political within the boundaries of violence, desire, and statehood: a sort of pessimism pervades the general assumptions and the end results. In this article, I shift the focus to a different aspect of the problem of sovereignty, drawing on ethnographic research about a Basque social movement that asserts self-determination in terms of a democratic and pacifist ‘Right to Decide’. Exploring the movement’s organization, daily activities, performances, sociality, and discourses, I argue that they prefigure political pleasure in a way that encourages the performance of sovereignty as a positive force. I show how the movement creates an environment in which producing sovereignty becomes a joyful experience.