The Basque digital diasporaleft-wing abertzale solidarity groups in Argentina

Resumen

My research aims at exploring and analysing in depth the current ideological and political relationships between diasporas and their homelands, through the specific case-study of the Basque diaspora, in this case, in Argentina, and its non-state European homeland. My interest focuses on the pro-independence Abertzale (Patriotic or nationalist, in the Basque language) and leftist ideology and its institutionalization as exhibited by a segment of the population in the Basque society as well as by certain groups in the Basque-Latin America diaspora. As observed, certain individuals and groups in the Basque diaspora in Argentina shared a similar ideology as the one present in the Basque Country, and which I can relate to the Basque pro-independence leftist movement, the so-called Izquierda Abertzale, understood as a movement that is supporter of Basque nationalism and at the same time is of left-wing ideology (socialist, Marxist, social-democrat, etc). Particularly, these diaspora groups have a prominent and active presence on cyberspace, forming a sort of ideological online (and networked) communities. Also, these groups gather a large political and ideological spectrum, despite having a bigger penetration among the so-called Izquierda Abertzale individuals. My interest lies on understanding the role that information and communication technologies (ICTs), in particular the internet, play in the establishment and development of politically engaged groups within the Basque diaspora in Argentina and the relationships established with similar groups in the Basque Country, understood as the provinces that lie within Spain and France. This research will deepen the knowledge on the Basque diaspora in Latin America, while seeking to explain or highlight the development and contradictions of a significant part of it, by focusing on the political aspects and actions, as well as the ideological aspects of certain groups, and its relationship with the homeland. It will attempt to go beyond the specific case of the Basque diaspora, and in order to evidence the formation of a new political paradigm between non-state diasporas and their homelands due to the impact of the internet and the politics that the emergent technologies might generate. The study of the Basque diaspora-homeland case will attempt to provide a significant contribution to the fields of international relations, diaspora studies and transnationalism studies as well as internet studies and media or communication studies.