Connecting the Basque and Icelandic Cases: An Ethnographic Chronicle about Democratic Regeneration.
• By Dr Igor Calzada: http://www.igorcalzada.com/2014/03/basque-iceland-connection-september-september-2013 • Fieldwork bitakora of ‘Iceland’ case in the project: www.cityregions.org • Published by Open Democracy (14/01/2015): www.opendemocracy.net
1
Connecting the Basque and Icelandic Cases:
An Ethnographic Chronicle about Democratic Regeneration.
Abstract:
This article aims to connect Iceland and the Basque Country from the democratic
regeneration perspective. The time frame chosen for the case studies is the period before
and after 2008 global crisis. In Iceland the crisis had an economic and political aspect
affecting the self-understanding of the territory as a whole. In the Basque Country it
also deals with the current peace process to settle down political violence and its causes.
In both cases there are deep underlying democratic regeneration issues. This article is
part of a broader research project entitled ‘Benchmarking Future City-Regions’
(www.cityregions.org).
Keywords:
Democracy, regeneration, critical social innovation, Basque Country, Iceland,
ethnography, territory, connection and comparison.
Igor Calzada
Oxford Programme for the Future of Cities, COMPAS, University of Oxford, 58
Banbury Road, OX2 6QS, Oxford. UK & Ikerbasque. Spain. E-mail:
Connecting the Basque and Icelandic Cases: An Ethnographic Chronicle about Democratic Regeneration.
• By Dr Igor Calzada: http://www.igorcalzada.com/2014/03/basque-iceland-connection-september-september-2013 • Fieldwork bitakora of ‘Iceland’ case in the project: www.cityregions.org • Published by Open Democracy (14/01/2015): www.opendemocracy.net
2
Connecting the Basque and Icelandic Cases: An Ethnographic Chronicle about Democratic Regeneration.
• By Dr Igor Calzada: http://www.igorcalzada.com/2014/03/basque-iceland-connection-september-september-2013 • Fieldwork bitakora of ‘Iceland’ case in the project: www.cityregions.org • Published by Open Democracy (14/01/2015): www.opendemocracy.net
3
Introduction
Contemplating about Iceland from the Basque Country1 could be seen as a
remote exercise, even more so when it refers to carrying out ethnographic fieldwork2.
This is exactly what I attempted doing my second visit to Reykjavik on the 23rd to the
29th of September 2013. I was already familiar with Iceland—its peculiarities,
remarkable language, music, literature, filming, and even its celebrities. I have
connected not only by my scientific curiosity, but also by my emotional—even
spiritual—sensitivity. Emotional landscapes can travel quickly from remote places:
from the volcanic and resilient smallness of Iceland to another tiny complex and diverse
corner between Spain and France, the Basque Country. I am Basque—yet I write my
surname with a non-Basque letter ‘C’. I have been ‘touched’ by Iceland as a whole
piece of outstanding isolated ‘whiteness’. Similarly, even though I have been in Iceland
separately in the past—2007—having the same scientific purpose as in 2013, I was
impressed and shared my hypothesis on how the language, landscapes, and the most
charismatic asset of the island, its people, have something to do with my homeland, the
Basque Country.
Seemingly, we can dare to link Basques and Icelanders regarding the smallness
of territory, the relationship between Basque whalers and Icelanders and even our
‘unique’ languages. However, despite the historical links between Iceland and the
Basque Country (Edvardsson and Rafnsson 2006) dating back to the sixteenth century, I
have not found any published comparative study in my research fields about
1 http://www.theguardian.com/the-report/basque-country
2 http://www.igorcalzada.com/2014/03/basque-iceland-connection-september-september-2013
Connecting the Basque and Icelandic Cases: An Ethnographic Chronicle about Democratic Regeneration.
• By Dr Igor Calzada: http://www.igorcalzada.com/2014/03/basque-iceland-connection-september-september-2013 • Fieldwork bitakora of ‘Iceland’ case in the project: www.cityregions.org • Published by Open Democracy (14/01/2015): www.opendemocracy.net
4
contemporary Iceland and the Basque Country. As Jón the Learned conveys in the
Spánverjavígin saga, the relationship between Basque whalers and Icelanders reached a
tragic peak in 1615, when approximately 30 of the former were slaughtered in the
region of the West Fjords. However, they are two societies that may benefit from
connecting with each other. They are struggling to depart from a crisis that is more than
financial, and they need to readjust their governance systems to the changes in the last
few years. Both require a deep democratic regeneration.
Democratic Regeneration
That was my main hypothesis—to attempt to connect, rather than compare, to the
Icelandic and the Basque case. Indeed, there is a slightly common factor at present in
the social sciences to compare two territories by carrying out ‘benchmarking’3. I do not
dare to proceed with such a complex analysis insofar as my aim was to follow my
intuition and check my hypothesis:
• Like the Basque Country, Iceland also after struggled after the 2008 crisis to rise
above its predicament.
• Iceland was the first country hit by the 2008 financial crisis with dramatic
democratic consequences. The source of the crisis was mainly the financial collapse
that left the country with no credit, and in a socio-economic emergency. I focused
on the source of the crisis and the way Icelanders explained the causes and the
ongoing process to overcome it. I sought to answer the following question: If there
has been some democratic social innovation or regeneration in Iceland after the
crisis, what relationship does it have with ethics? What is its moral core?
3 http://cityregions.org/comparative-territorial-connection/empirical-approach/iceland
Connecting the Basque and Icelandic Cases: An Ethnographic Chronicle about Democratic Regeneration.
• By Dr Igor Calzada: http://www.igorcalzada.com/2014/03/basque-iceland-connection-september-september-2013 • Fieldwork bitakora of ‘Iceland’ case in the project: www.cityregions.org • Published by Open Democracy (14/01/2015): www.opendemocracy.net
5
• With the Basque Country, the ceasefire announced by ETA in 2011 led to overcome
the lack of peace and deficient normalised political or institutional life.
• In this globalised context, both countries required to restructure their governance
systems to adapt them positively. In the two cases, the democratic regeneration was
the outcome by having similar ethical and political implications. They shared some
features concerning their comparative small size and identity (unique local language
and culture dealing with the bigger player in a global arena). I wondered whether
some of the transformations (e.g., social innovations) that emerged in Iceland during
the Kreppa years (2008-2013) could apply to the crisis in the Basque Country in the
new post-violence situation (the ETA’s ceasefire from 2011 onward). In addition,
could we suggest micro-social innovative cases such as cooperativism or
plurilingualism, among other features?
• As different as Iceland and the Basque Country are, both situations involved hope
for a regeneration of the democratic system, and both raise questions such as: What
has really been happening in Iceland? What is the nature of the change or innovation
that has emerged? In what way is it special or different from the Basque case?
Therefore, I was interested in looking into two main research challenges:
• First, I wanted to make clear the underlying ethics (presuppositions, emerging
topics and emotions) and strategic critical social innovation trends (social
networks, economic solidarity and contested anti-neoclassic economic
orthodoxy initiatives) around themes such as the political innovation at the
global and local scales. I was also interested in the meaning of the crisis and its
impact on democracy (before and after 2008), the influence of technology and
social movements in this hypothetical social transformation, and the role of
Connecting the Basque and Icelandic Cases: An Ethnographic Chronicle about Democratic Regeneration.
• By Dr Igor Calzada: http://www.igorcalzada.com/2014/03/basque-iceland-connection-september-september-2013 • Fieldwork bitakora of ‘Iceland’ case in the project: www.cityregions.org • Published by Open Democracy (14/01/2015): www.opendemocracy.net
6
different stakeholders and the macro and micro socio-economic real alternatives
in contrast with the neoclassical economic orthodoxy agenda. I also wanted to
examine how we could connect the Basque and Icelandic cases under this
similar thematic umbrella.
• Second, I wanted to reconnect not only Icelanders and Basques through our two
political systems, but also apply ethics and critical social innovation to our
comparative research project.
I presented4 the results of the fieldwork in Reykjavik, in the University of Iceland,
on September 27th of 2013. Here are the fieldwork research rationale and the main
conclusions:
Fieldwork
As Hoeg (2005) stated, ‘There is only one way to understand another culture.
Living it’. Trying to make my hypothesis precise, I set up a research agenda and design
an intensive fieldwork in Reykjavik by using the qualitative, semi-structured method. I
interviewed eight discussants, mainly academics but also policy-makers and politicians.
With fieldwork research, one receives gratitude one deserves as a social scientist
by temporary ‘living’ a culture, an atmosphere and a society. I applied a methodology
by merging two disciplines, Applied Ethics and Critical Social Innovation for
Territories. I depicted this methodological approach by using a glacier:
4 Here is the presentation: http://www.slideshare.net/icalzada/briefing-basque-iceland-connetion-dr-calzada-casado-university-of-
iceland-reykjavik-27rd-sept-2014
Connecting the Basque and Icelandic Cases: An Ethnographic Chronicle about Democratic Regeneration.
• By Dr Igor Calzada: http://www.igorcalzada.com/2014/03/basque-iceland-connection-september-september-2013 • Fieldwork bitakora of ‘Iceland’ case in the project: www.cityregions.org • Published by Open Democracy (14/01/2015): www.opendemocracy.net
7
On the one hand, through the framework, I considered the social problematic
issues of the Icelandic crisis, as addressed by Critical Social Innovation, in becoming
much more complex due to deepening, mutually reinforced socio-economic, socio-
political and socio-ecological crises (Moulaert et al., 2013). On the other hand, I tried to
account for the ways in which social practices are laden with judgements of moral value
(Dunn et al., 2012). I proceeded with the following methodological factors for each
discipline that assisted me in the fieldwork process:
Critical Social Innovation Applied to Territories
Applied Ethics
Connecting the Basque and Icelandic Cases: An Ethnographic Chronicle about Democratic Regeneration.
• By Dr Igor Calzada: http://www.igorcalzada.com/2014/03/basque-iceland-connection-september-september-2013 • Fieldwork bitakora of ‘Iceland’ case in the project: www.cityregions.org • Published by Open Democracy (14/01/2015): www.opendemocracy.net
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In addition, here is the outcome and the methodological matrix in which I proceeded to
gather qualitative data:
Main Conclusions
Instead of presenting the entire methodological process and the specific
conclusion about this research project, I aim to conclude this ethnographic chronicle
with a summary in which I draw on the main suppositions of my research. The specific
content of this research will undergo publication entitled Demos-Ethos: A framework to
study the Basque and Icelandic cases through Critical Social Innovation and Applied
Ethics shortly in the Innovation: The European Journal of Social Science Research.
According to the Financial Times (09/27/2013), Iceland seemed to enjoy
‘abundant natural resources that even the most over exuberant financiers and politicians
could not damage too much’. At present, this statement is fair and true after the 2008
crash.
I connected the Basque observation with the Icelandic reality throughout two main
crises that had in common their democratic regeneration imperatives. These are the
main five conclusions:
• Iceland’s material, spatial and economic system (URBS), proved the country was
well balanced and ready for any unexpected vulnerable circumstances. The crises
mainly hit Iceland but its reaction was quick by keeping the main economic factors
Connecting the Basque and Icelandic Cases: An Ethnographic Chronicle about Democratic Regeneration.
• By Dr Igor Calzada: http://www.igorcalzada.com/2014/03/basque-iceland-connection-september-september-2013 • Fieldwork bitakora of ‘Iceland’ case in the project: www.cityregions.org • Published by Open Democracy (14/01/2015): www.opendemocracy.net
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in favour of the solution. Indeed, sustainability and well-being were the main
structural factors in the regional development policies. In addition, being small and
resilient made Iceland stronger by having such a well-connected territory between
the hub (Reykjavik) and the periphery (Akureyri, Kópavogur, Harnarfjördur,
Keflavik, and others). Some of the sources to overcome the crisis and settle down
the economy were the real microeconomic recovery sectors, such as fishing and
tourism.
• Iceland’s physical, digital and social connectivity systems (CYBER) were the
dynamic and modifiable ‘liquid’ artefacts. We cannot forget the spark the
‘kitchenware revolution’ propagated through social media such as Facebook. People
demonstrated a collective defence of the means for happiness and social well-being
by network-driven, new communitarian social reconfiguration. It should be also
noted that digital connectivity and the physical proximity between culturally diverse
peers enabled a socio-political new agenda and situation by presenting a social
capital that still exists to date. Iceland started partially regenerating its political
structures mainly due to the outstanding usage of the physical, digital and social
connectivity as a response to an emergence.
• Iceland’s citizenship, entrepreneurial and migration systems (CIVITAS) depicted an
emotionally well-channelled activism. To face the massive threat of collapse, people
self-managed and organised a civic level activist survival strategy; a Pots and Pans
revolution in the streets was the main example. In addition, it should be added that
in contrast with the Basque case, in Iceland, citizens channelled their collective
anger without violence, and enabled public deliberation. Streets were synonymous
with the public space to protect the basic rights of the citizenship. From the social
Connecting the Basque and Icelandic Cases: An Ethnographic Chronicle about Democratic Regeneration.
• By Dr Igor Calzada: http://www.igorcalzada.com/2014/03/basque-iceland-connection-september-september-2013 • Fieldwork bitakora of ‘Iceland’ case in the project: www.cityregions.org • Published by Open Democracy (14/01/2015): www.opendemocracy.net
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innovation perspective, the transition from activism towards entrepreneurship did
not proceed by being in jeopardy. Citizenship assumed the responsibility of
contributing to the financial ‘bubble’.
• Iceland’s political system changed dramatically before and after 2008 due to a
massive dissatisfaction with the conventional political system (POLIS). Therefore,
the outcome of that context was an internal political fragmentation in permanent and
ongoing transition until present days. It is noteworthy that the confrontation between
the declining dominant mass media, and the alternative social media-driven politics,
was produced in this transition. Social media became the collective intelligence of
‘togetherness’ after a fragile, broken democratic system. The transition fostered a
permanent celebration of cultural diversity by entertainment politics without
populism. However, among the celebration and the victory, there was a new civilian
principle: ‘Lack of impunity and zero tolerance when trust or social capital is
broken’.
• Therefore, by presenting dilemmas in the political transition, Iceland has been inside
its own tunnel in an ongoing re-examination. Nowadays, the process, not yet closed
and culminated, shows a national identity based on independence, modernity and
uniqueness. There is myth already perceived as the ‘Icelandic miracle’, in reference
to how a revolution transformed a bankruptcy by forcing it to a point of reversal.
This set up a new critical order with permanent contestation, but also caused
uncertainty and fear of a constitutional reform due to lack of consensus. Finally, this
delicate and opened context leaves a pending question for Icelanders that could be
named ‘the European dilemma’: can Iceland retain itself within the EU context
without any institutional protection? This is a pending question for Iceland as a
Connecting the Basque and Icelandic Cases: An Ethnographic Chronicle about Democratic Regeneration.
• By Dr Igor Calzada: http://www.igorcalzada.com/2014/03/basque-iceland-connection-september-september-2013 • Fieldwork bitakora of ‘Iceland’ case in the project: www.cityregions.org • Published by Open Democracy (14/01/2015): www.opendemocracy.net
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small state that provides hints to the Basque Country, another city-regional small
nation that faces a future path by being as small as Iceland.
Hence, after connecting the Basque and the Icelandic cases in this research
project, here now is my final conclusion: ‘Small5 is beautiful.’
Postscript:
For the last part of my fieldwork research in Iceland, we went to Thingvellir. It is said
that the first parliamentary assembly in Europe took place in a region called Thingvellir,
in southern Iceland (the so-called Althingi). I confess it was the perfect ending as to
contemplate how the Basques and Icelanders already connected throughout their
democratic recovery ties. Moreover, in Thingvellir, as viewed from the Basque
perspective, Auden described Iceland as depicting three kind of landscapes: ‘Rocky,
very rocky and completely rocky’.
A day after Thingvellir, something even more magic occurred: I bumped into Björk in
the local supermarket and I thought in this poem—half in Icelandic and half in Basque
language—as the best feeling to recover the inner connection between Iceland and the
Basque Country, once again:
Takk fyrir, Iceland, zugatik pintatzen dituzte hospitaleak zuriz (oraindik).6
5 http://www.nesta.org.uk/publications/when-small-beautiful-lessons-highly-innovative-smaller-countries
6 Thank you Iceland, the hospital are painted in white (still) because of you.
Connecting the Basque and Icelandic Cases: An Ethnographic Chronicle about Democratic Regeneration.
• By Dr Igor Calzada: http://www.igorcalzada.com/2014/03/basque-iceland-connection-september-september-2013 • Fieldwork bitakora of ‘Iceland’ case in the project: www.cityregions.org • Published by Open Democracy (14/01/2015): www.opendemocracy.net
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Connecting the Basque and Icelandic Cases: An Ethnographic Chronicle about Democratic Regeneration.
• By Dr Igor Calzada: http://www.igorcalzada.com/2014/03/basque-iceland-connection-september-september-2013 • Fieldwork bitakora of ‘Iceland’ case in the project: www.cityregions.org • Published by Open Democracy (14/01/2015): www.opendemocracy.net
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Biographical data: http://www.igorcalzada.com/about Dr Igor Calzada MBA is a Lecturer, Research Fellow and Senior Policy Adviser at: 1) the University of Oxford (UK) Programme for the Future of Cities, COMPAS, InSIS, and the Department of Politics & International Relations, 2) University of Strathclyde, Institute for Future Cities in Glasgow (Scotland) and 3) Birmingham Aston University, Policy & Sociology Department (UK). In addition to this, he is a James Oxford Martin School Fellow. He held a PostDoctoral Research Fellow position at the Basque Foundation for Science, Ikerbasque (2012-2014) and he was Lecturer & Senior Researcher at the University of Mondragon Unibertsitatea a part of the Mondragon Co-operative Corporation Group located in the Basque Country (Spain) for more than ten years (2000 <). He got his PhD (2005-2011) at the University of Mondragon (Spain) that was carried out (2008-2009) at the University of Nevada (USA). Dr Calzada is an expert in research and policy-making projects on city-regional policies, social innovation, territorial development and strategies and governance.
He has been presented with three Research Fellowship from 2008 to the present time to research on Regional Comparative Studies: In 2008 and 2009, a Research Predoctoral Award by the Spanish Princess, in 2012, a Research Postdoctoral Fellowship by the Basque Government and Ikerbasque and recently, the Regional Studies Association RSA Early Career Grant.
He has been Associate Researcher at the University of Nevada, Reno (USA); worked as Director of Research & Innovation at the Vice-Ministry of the Basque Government; has carried out research, on the 5th, 6th and 7th FP of the EU; has worked for 10 years in the Mondragon MCC. He has been and is working as an International Strategic & Innovation Advisor for institutions & companies.
He obtained the Advanced Studies degree at the University of Helsinki, Center for Activity Theory and Developmental Work Research (Finland). He also has MBA from the Faculty of Economics & Business Administration ESTE in the University of Deusto. He graduated in Political Science & Sociology from the University of Deusto.
He is member of the following institutions as his professional qualifications:
• Regional Studies Association (RSA) • James Oxford Martin School
Nowadays, he is the curator of the Politics in Spires Special Series entitled 'Between Independence & Re-centralization: Political Innovation in an Age of Devolution'.
Dr Calzada’s academic contributions include 6 books, about 10 articles and chapters, more than 40 conference/seminar papers and more than 40 other papers (most of the latter are in Spanish and Basque). These include: a chapter in the International Handbook of Social Innovation published by Edward Elgar on the Mondragon Co-operative case-study and edited by Frank Moulaert et al. (2013); the article Unplugging: Deconstructing the Smart city published by the Journal of Urban Technology; the article Demos & Ethos: A Framework to study the Basque and Icelandic cases through Critical Social Innovation and Applied Ethics published by Innovation: The European Journal of Social Science Research and the article Critical Social Innovation in the Smart city era for a City-regional European Horizon 2020 in the P3T Journal of Public Policies & Territory.
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