Culture of Peace in the Basque Country. Pacifist organizations, mass media and citizenry

Abstract

This paper analyses three fundamental processes in the construction of peace in the current stage of the Basque conflict. Firstly, the creation of public discourses by pacifist organizations, conditioned by the communicative strategy, the economic availability, the repertoires of action, the ideology and the existence of networks of interaction with other peace platforms and social actors. Secondly, the media diffusion of news related to the conflict, analysed through the existence of violence in the socio-political milieu, the type of media ownership, the editorial line, the availability of resources and the professional abilities of journalists. Finally, the citizenry level focuses on the legitimation of the precedent stages and on the deployment of awareness and participation processes that may lead to the consolidation of local peace-promoting practices.