ED Sociétés, Politique, Santé Publique
Socio-history of the cooperative movement in the Basque Country: A new cycle for the Basque cooperative identity.
by Miguel DE LA FUENTE (Centre Emile Durkheim)
The defense will take place at 10h00 - Salón de Grados David Kato Facultad de Derecho - Donostia Manuel Lardizabal Ibilbidea, 2, 20018 Donostia, Gipuzkoa
in front of the jury composed of
- Aitziber ETXEZARRETA - Profesora Agregada - Universidad del País Vasco/Euskal Herriko Unibertsitatea - Examinateur
- Timothée DUVERGER - Ingénieure de recherche - Sciences Po Bordeaux - Examinateur
- Nadine RICHEZ-BATTESTI - Maîtresse de conférences - Aix-Marseille Université - Examinateur
- Antoni EIZAGIRRE - Profesor doctor - Mondragon Unibertsitatea - Examinateur
- José Luis MONZóN - Catedrático - Universitat de València - Rapporteur
The thesis aims to provide a socio-historical analysis of the ideological foundations of cooperativism in the Basque Country to understand the shape of the cooperative identity. In the first part, we have diachronically sequenced the cooperative movement, dividing it into four historical cycles, among which we advocate for the emergence of a new cooperative cycle: Pre-war Cooperativism, Necessity Cooperativism, Welfare Cooperativism, and the New Cooperative Cycle. Throughout this parcours, we have sought to analyze the ideological foundations specific to each cooperative cycle, focusing on the relationship between social, religious, political, and institutional actors while considering the predominant role of the Mondragon Cooperative Experience. In doing so, we have attempted to fill a series of evident scholar gaps. In the second part, based on the analysis of new cooperative modes of action (Egitea) and new identity belongings (Izatea), we have examined the characteristics of the new historical cycle. This new cycle emerges with particularities in each territorial reality of the Basque Country. However, all the territorial perspectives share certain commonalities. The diversification of ideological foundations around new paradigms (feminism, environmentalism, the Euskera defense, or the emergence of the Social and Solidarity Economy paradigm) is the most apparent similarity. In this analysis of cooperative identity, we draw from existing literature on modern identity construction. Specifically, we analyze Charles Taylor's work, on identity construction according to professional and territorial elements. From the resulting fieldwork analysis, we also observe a process of erosion of cooperative identity. We have named this process identity disaffection. This process stems from the socio-historical transformations of cooperativism and the progressive ideological mutation characterizing the new cooperative cycle. Finally, we outline some identity recovery policies developed within Basque cooperativism and more specifically within the Mondragon Group.