Dynamic Resistance: Third-Sector Processes for Transforming Neoliberalization

Abstract

This paper proposes a holistic framework called dynamic resistance for analysing and animating third‐sector organizations’ contestations of neoliberalization. It argues that the third sector constitutes a rich terrain for transforming neoliberalization processes to promote human flourishing and social justice. Dynamic resistance comprises four elements—rejection, resilience, resourcefulness, and reflexive practice—within a cyclical process which can occur simultaneously at different organizational scales. Four vignettes, drawn from participatory action research, illustrate these processes at Oblong, a grassroots community group in Leeds which now runs a community centre. Despite engagement with neoliberal mechanisms, Oblong provides an example of dynamic resistance in practice, avoiding “mission drift” and prioritizing self‐defined core values of equality, collectivity, empowerment, sustainability, respect and care, and being community led. Dynamic resistance suggests third‐sector organizations’ capacity to construct transformative social empowerment through ever‐changing practices which are proactive and self‐directed as well as responsive.

Elucidating the changing roles of civil society in urban sustainability transitions

“…Civil society fosters and reestablishes connections between people and nature, creating ecological experiences and ecological memory in urban citizens that are fundamental to ecological dimension of sustainability [98,99,100]. Such rapid experimentation in the local context makes civil society a potential driver of sustainability transitions [4,8,9,10,11,12,13,14,15,16,17,18,19,20,21,22,23,24,25,26,27,28,29,30,31,32,33,34,35,36,37,38,39,40,41,42].…”

“…They provide access to alternative services and ways to satisfy needs that make the adoption of sustainable lifestyles and cohesive societies possible, while creating the incipient social norms that support new sustainable institutions [82]. Local civil society can counterbalance the effects of neoliberal policies, sustain democratic processes via representing citizen's interests and voice [37,38] and, in this way, reflect "renewed forms of democracy, solidarity and embrace of difference" [3, p.2799].…”

“…In this case, viewing civil society establishments as the "visible hand of the state" may demoralize and delegitimize individuals to create bottom-up civil society organizations, undercutting local democratic politics [105]. The overexposure resulting from (what could be considered) a capture of civil society organizations by the state can leave these actors exhausted and erode any potential of a grassroots mission [2,3,6,18,19,35,38,45,55,58,88,90,91,92,93,94,95,96,97].…”

Making space for co‐produced research ‘impact’: learning from a participatory action research case study

“…Co‐designed research activities: functioned as iterative learning cycles for participants to reflect on and adapt Oblong's values praxis through different aspects of organisational practice and procedures; produced data relevant to broader organisational processes of contesting neoliberalisation (see Darby ); and helped to generate, and reflexively evaluate, practical, relevant ‘impacts’. …”

“…They also created empowerment through ownership of outcomes and increased capacity for value‐rational decisionmaking (evaluated in Darby ). Participant‐driven research activities generated significant strategic impacts for Oblong and its ‘beneficiaries’, and positively impacted Oblong's resilience, resourcefulness and collective empowerment by addressing vulnerabilities, equipping group members with skills, affirming autonomous values and decreasing barriers to resources and influence (MacKinnon and Derickson ; Darby ). Relational, responsive research created small but relevant transformations in organisational practice (Pain ).…”