Resistance Redux

Abstract

The last 15 years have witnessed renewed interest in resistance in and around organizations. In this essay, we offer a conceptual framework to thematise this burgeoning conceptual and empirical terrain. We critically explore scholarship that examines resistance in terms of its manifestations and political intent or impact. We offer four fields of possibility for resistance scholarship: individual infrapolitics, collective infrapolitics, insubordination, and insurrection (the "Four I's" of Resistance).We conclude by considering the relationship between resistance theory and praxis, and pose four questions, or provocations, for stimulating future resistance research and practice.

Silence‐breaking butterfly effect: Resistance towards the military within #MeToo

“…We argue that the #MeToo call studied in this article is a case of collective resistance by women with a relationship to the military. The published call, on the other hand, represents resistance as declaratory, unambiguous oppositionwhat Mumby et al (2017Mumby et al ( , p. 1163) call insurrection. Mumby et al (2017) employ a distinction between forms of collective resistance that may be useful in interpreting the empirical context studied here.…”

“…It could be argued that the mobilization phase that took place within the hidden Facebook group represents resistance as ambiguous collective infrapolitics. The published call, on the other hand, represents resistance as declaratory, unambiguous oppositionwhat Mumby et al (2017Mumby et al ( , p. 1163) call insurrection. The first enables the second, as claimed by Courpasson (2017), who argues that the distinction between hidden and public resistance is exaggerated and that the two forms of expression should rather be seen as interrelated.…”

“…Mumby et al (2017) employ a distinction between forms of collective resistance that may be useful in interpreting the empirical context studied here. Mumby et al (2017), in their overview of research on resistance, continue to reproduce one-dimensional images of resistance, including definitions of who performs resistance and in what context it happens. The published call, on the other hand, represents resistance as declaratory, unambiguous oppositionwhat Mumby et al (2017Mumby et al ( , p. 1163) call insurrection.…”

“…Collective resistance is often preceded by an act of individual resistance that spurs engagement (Mumby, Thomas, & Martí, 2017, p. 1171, as was the case in the #MeToo movement. We argue that the #MeToo call studied in this article is a case of collective resistance by women with a relationship to the military.…”

“…As such, it could also be theorized as collective agency (Ozkazanc-Pan, 2018). Mumby et al (2017) employ a distinction between forms of collective resistance that may be useful in interpreting the empirical context studied here. It could be argued that the mobilization phase that took place within the hidden Facebook group represents resistance as ambiguous collective infrapolitics.…”