Towards a Consistent Language Policy for the French Basque Country? Actors, Processes and Outcomes

en libre accès : http://portal.uam.es/portal/page/portal/UAM_ORGANIZATIVO/Departamentos/CienciaPoliticaRelacionesInternacionales/publicaciones%20en%20red/working_papersWorking Papers Online Series, Estudio/Working Paper n° 122, Departamendo de Ciencia Política y Relaciones Internacionales, Universidad Autónoma de MadridThis paper focuses on the progressive implementation of a consistent language policy in the French Basque Country (Iparralde). In doing so, it questions how French Basque ethnolinguistic movements emerged and have been consolidated since the Second World War. According to our hypothesis, the rise of this policy was favoured by a combination of endogenous and exogenous variables, i.e., the new institutional capacities reached after decentralisation, the new relationship between ethnolinguistic movements and central state services, the establishment of stable territorial coalitions between civil society and local representatives, the new repertoire of collective action among activists (which was more peaceful), and the rise of cross-border relations between French and Spanish actors combined to favour the institutionalisation of a regional language policy in Iparralde