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Violent Nationalism in Catholic Communities: The Provisional IRA and ETA
Author(s) -
Rooney Nicola
Publication year - 2007
Publication title -
studies in ethnicity and nationalism
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.204
H-Index - 8
eISSN - 1754-9469
pISSN - 1473-8481
DOI - 10.1111/j.1754-9469.2007.tb00162.x
Subject(s) - morality , nationalism , citizen journalism , action (physics) , sociology , political science , law , forcing (mathematics) , criminology , gender studies , physics , quantum mechanics , climatology , politics , geology
This paper will examine how the Provisional IRA and Euzkadi Ta Askatasuna ‐ Basque Country and Freedom ‐ (ETA) sought to legitimise and gain support for a campaign of urban guerrilla warfare by casting themselves in the role of defenders of a Catholic community. The need to reconcile the acceptance of violent action and Catholic religious beliefs led to a strong emphasis on the morality of the struggle waged by both groups during the early years of their existence. Interestingly, this definition of morality was grounded in Catholic teaching, forcing both organisations to challenge the leadership of the ecclesiastical authorities.