Organizing Resistance on the Internet: The Case of the International Campaign for Justice in Bhopal

Abstract

This essay examines the transformative potential of the International Campaign for Justice in Bhopal (ICJB), the activist group fighting for justice for the survivors of the Union Carbide disaster in Bhopal, India. A thematic analysis of the ICJB website, based on grounded theory, reveals the discursive constructions of the struggles of ICJB with the corporate power of Dow Chemicals and its resistance in challenging the oppressive structures of State‐corporate nexus. The themes establish ICJB as a counter‐hegemonic force and as an exemplar of transformative resistance that challenges the established domination of power structures. Its potential for social change gets articulated by the mobilization of offline and online resources in processes of local‐global organizing for social change.

Debunking Eurocentrism in Organizational Communication Theory: Marginality and Liquidities in Postcolonial Contexts

“…Both discussions of (in)visibility and liquidities can encourage organizational communication scholars to provide theoretical explanations for new forms of resistance in "flight" (Haro & Coles, 2019). If postcolonial scholarship brings forth "subaltern resistance" in organizational communication (Pal & Dutta, 2012, little is known about its various forms in complex postcolonial contexts. In an adjacent body of work, Ganesh, Zoller, and Cheney (2005) argue for a "globalization from below" perspective focused on people and collectives resisting "globalization from above" or totalizing neoliberal policies that dominant stakeholders put in place (e.g., governments and institutions).…”

“…Beyond the mere inclusion of marginal spaces, populations, and organizations, marginality is an endeavor focused on knowledge production and representation (Chakravartty, Kuo, Grubbs, & McIlwain, 2018). It challenges underlying Westerncentered assumptions in organizational communication, which has had limited engagement with marginality, with exceptions (Dutta & Pal, 2010;Pal & Buzzanell, 2013;Pal & Dutta, 2012). Thus, the view from the margins is powerful, uncovering universalisms in dominant theories (Mohanty, 2003).…”

“…doi:10.1093/ct/qtz038 Despite a theoretical engagement with marginality in health communication (Basu & Dutta, 2007Dutta-Bergmann, 2004), a similar discussion is lacking in organizational communication. If a debate on the inclusion of alternative voices surfaced more than a decade ago (Broadfoot & Munshi, 2007;Grimes & Parker, 2009), little is known about how marginal actors organize, with exceptions (Pal, 2016;Pal & Buzzanell, 2013;Pal & Dutta, 2012. Our definition of "marginal organizational actors" is two-layered: It refers to disenfranchised subjects of the Global South who are framed as being "outside of organization" or incapable of organizing.…”

Engaged Communication Scholarship for Environmental Justice: A Research Agenda

“…EJ movements' critical rhetoric counters opponents' public arguments. This body of research encompasses struggles over a wide array of issues, including climate and reproductive justice (de Onís, 2012), e-waste and sustainable electronics (Raphael & Smith, 2006), nuclear waste (Endres, 2009), toxics (DeLuca, 1999;Pezzullo, 2009Pezzullo, , 2014, stresses on people and land from U.S.-Mexico border enforcement (Shellabarger, Peterson, Sills, & Cubbage, 2012), energy colonialism in Puerto Rico (de Onís, 2018), deforestation and peacebuilding in Africa (Gorsevski, 2012), and compensation for victims of the Union Carbide chemical release in Bhopal, India (Pal & Dutta, 2012). This research has identified several themes specific to EJ conflicts.…”

“Millennial India”: Global Digital Politics in Context

“…This echoes similar efforts to forge “networks of hope” on a global scale (Castells 2012) by environment protection activists in India. For instance, transnational activism by NGO networks in India have used social media networks to mobilize demands for justice for the victims of the 1984 Union Carbide disaster in India, a predigital campaign sustained over decades (M. Pal and Dutta 2012).…”