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- Convenors:
-
Marjoke Oosterom
(Institute of Development Studies)
Patta Scott-Villiers (Institute of Development Studies)
Rosie McGee (University of Sussex)
Niranjan Nampoothiri (Institute of Development Studies)
Send message to Convenors
- Chair:
-
Marjoke Oosterom
(Institute of Development Studies)
- Discussant:
-
Niranjan Nampoothiri
(Institute of Development Studies)
- Format:
- Paper panel
- Stream:
- Local action, activism and agency in development
- Location:
- C426
- Sessions:
- Wednesday 26 June, -, -
Time zone: Europe/London
Short Abstract:
The world is witnessing mobilization both for and against democratic backsliding. Papers in this panel are based on empirical research and will analyze perspectives ‘from below’ to further an understanding of contemporary forms of mobilization and their connection to social justice.
Long Abstract:
The multiple crises that the world is witnessing today have eroded previously dominant narratives around the future of democracy and the role of civic-political engagement. In the first two decades of this millennium, people across the globe were engaging in forms of contestation that challenged the highly unequal outcomes of neoliberalism and undemocratic regimes, from Occupy to fuel protests, to the Arab uprisings. In recent times, people have mobilized for leaders and causes that, in different ways, further democratic backsliding. Diverse groups are mobilizing both for and against, for instance, populist-authoritarian leaders, gender equality, and competing notions of rights. Spaces for political expression by social justice actors are changing, often shrinking. Online spaces are affected by forms of digital authoritarianism and societal actors that aim to undermine the rights and political expression of others. Present-day forms of popular politics have changed and require new analytical lenses.
How has this made mobilizing for social justice harder, and for whom? What are people mobilizing for and against, why and how? Which forms of political mobilization can bridge political divides, and which are deepening them? How are ‘unruly’ politics used, and to what purpose? How do gender, generation and other forms of social difference shape popular mobilization? Papers presented in this panel are based on empirical research and will center on analyzing perspectives ‘from below’ to answer such questions and further an understanding of contemporary forms of mobilization and contestation and their connection to social justice.
Accepted papers:
Session 1 Wednesday 26 June, 2024, -Bagesh Kumar
Paper short abstract:
Imbibed in the social structure, caste is a live force in Indian culture and politics. This ethnographic study engages with the Dalit identity assertion in the everyday politics of student mobilisation through anti-caste politics, iconography and ideology at the University of Hyderabad, India.
Paper long abstract:
India has witnessed a radical political shift since the 1990s. Two paradoxical paradigms— neo-liberalism and social justice, continue to affect the socio-political discourse in every social setting. My research engages with one of the critical sites, ‘the university’, to understand the ‘socio-politics of caste’ using the ‘perspective from below’ in India. Further, the study examines the caste question to understand the role of the state, universities and the Dalit student organizations to critically analyze the issues of recognition, redistribution and representation.
The Dalits in Indian society experience exclusion and humiliation in every realm of social life. On the other hand, their mobilization in recent years is most noticeable in electoral politics, suggesting an identity assertion and resistance from the ex-untouchables. Similarly, counter-assertions and developing antagonisms with dominant groups are visible on university campuses. This paper is based on an ethnographic study from January 2019 to January 2020 at the University of Hyderabad, Telangana, India. It examines how the Dalit identity is formed through organized collective action on university campuses. Apart from advancing a sociological understanding of representation, this paper develops a critical perspective on the actors animating the politics of social emancipation.
One of the significant manifestations of the Dalit identity in the universities finds expression through identity assertion in the form of counter-culture celebrations. However, the everyday student activism of the Dalits results in contestation with other student groups and the university administration. Correspondingly, the study documents the historical moment of identity politics in the student movement in India.
Hamid Khalafallah (University of Manchester)
Paper short abstract:
This paper examines how Sudan's resistance committees sustained their mobilisation for democracy and persisted as the only credible civilian actor, despite grave challenges. By adapting to context and providing public goods, they maintained their legitimacy and sustained their mobilisation.
Paper long abstract:
After witnessing a historic popular revolution in 2019, Sudan has been going through unprecedently volatile events. The turbulent political transition that followed the revolution faced serious challenges, before the military halted the democratic aspirations of the people by orchestrating a coup in 2021. Two years later, the ‘marriage of convenience’ between the military factions that partnered in implementing the coup came to an end when the violent war erupted. Throughout these events, all civilian actors that led the revolution including political parties and professional associations, lost their relevance and credibility, except for the resistance committees. The resistance committees are grassroots movements that emerged during the revolution and became a new source of public authority, in the face of the military of the politics of ‘traditional’ political groups. They represent an informal alternative institution that transcends societal divides.
The resistance committees in Sudan have managed to sustain their mobilisation for democracy and continued to maintain their legitimacy. Despite the violence they faced from military actors and the exclusion they encountered from civilian political leaders, they have shown admirable resilience and persistence in their resistance and continued to mobilise people through protests and producing political charters. Furthermore, they maintained their legitimacy and credibility by adapting to the fluctuating context by remaining true to their constituents and providing humanitarian assistance in times of need. They also provided an innovative model of governance, that prioritises participation, transparency and accountability. This paper investigates how the resistance continued to mobilise for democracy despite these grave challenges.
Oliver Walton (University of Bath)
Paper short abstract:
This paper examines the role of migrant women and sexual and gender minorities in protest movements in Lebanon (2019) and Sri Lanka (2022). It explores these groups' strategies and analyses how they have negotiated relations with other civil society groups involved in the protest movements.
Paper long abstract:
Economic and political crises have reverberated across the Global South in recent years, giving rise to waves of non-violent protests. Among the most impactful globally have been the protest movements in Lebanon (2019) and Sri Lanka (2022). In both countries, protests sought to transform political systems and had profound effects on the political landscape, leading to the resignation of the President (in Sri Lanka) and the Prime Minister (in Lebanon). Both protests emerged during protracted post-war transitions, characterised by sustained periods of political unsettlement, growing concerns about corruption, the cost of living, and the deterioration of public services.
This paper will investigate public responses to the intense economic and political crises that have enveloped Lebanon and Sri Lanka since 2019. Migrant women and sexual and gender minorities have been amongst the worst affected groups and have faced a double marginalisation: neglected by government and side-lined by protest movements. In response to these challenging conditions, these groups have mobilised in new ways in pursuit of social justice. This paper draws on comparative research conducted in Lebanon and Sri Lanka and has three main aims: (1) to explore how crises have been experienced by some of the most marginalised groups in both societies (with a particular focus on migrant women and sexual and gender minorities), (2) to examine the strategies employed by these groups to achieve their goals, and (3) to examine how these groups have negotiated relations with other civil society organisations and activist groups involved in the protest movements.
Solava Ibrahim
Paper short abstract:
This paper draws on a longitudinal study in Egypt articulating voices of deprived communities pre- and post- 2011 uprising. The aim is to critically examine the impact of the uprisings on people's wellbeing and aspirations and to explain why they settled for a new authoritarian social contract.
Paper long abstract:
Egypt's return to authoritarian rule under Sisi is a clear case of ‘democratic backsliding’. Despite growing public dissent and deepening economic crises (40% inflation in Aug 2023), this dissent is no longer translated into protests. This is due to: First, the heavy-handed nature of Sisi’s authoritarian regime which succeeded in controlling political and digital spaces for popular contestation. Second, despite their suffering, people are reluctant to protest as they settled for a new authoritarian social contract trading off their socio-economic and civil rights for political stability. The sustainability of such a social contract, however, is highly questionable leading to long-term political instability.
Drawing on an longitudinal study (2006 until 2018) in rural villages in Menia and Manshiet Nasser, the study tracks the same individuals through a wellbeing questionnaire to identify the changes in their wellbeing priorities, aspirations, and problems over time and to examine their perceived impact of the uprisings on their wellbeing. The study reveals that people are reluctant to engage in popular contestation as they tend to blame the uprisings and their resulting political instability – rather than the regime's policies - for their economic suffering! The regime's 'New Republic' rhetoric has thus propagated a new social contract that forgoes socio-economic and political rights for political stability. Why and how are people settling for this new authoritarian social contract and for how long – are the key questions that this paper addresses. Drawing on people’s voices and their perspectives from below, the paper seeks to answer those questions.
Alfredo Saad Filho (LUT, Finland and University of Johannesburg, South Africa) Alison Ayers (University of Sussex)
Paper short abstract:
The period since the Global Financial Crisis has witnessed the rise of authoritarian-right-wing movements, regimes, and leaders across the globe. We examine these shifts, through the cases of Brazil, India, Turkey and the Philippines.
Paper long abstract:
The period since the Global Financial Crisis has witnessed the rise of authoritarian-right-wing movements, regimes, and leaders across the globe. We examine these shifts, focusing on the cases of Brazil, India, Turkey and the Philippines, in order to draw the wider implications of these movements, leaders and regimes for development in the age of authoritarian neoliberalism. In doing this, we offer an alternative to vague (over-)generalisations around ‘authoritarian populism’, which fail to grasp the complexity and contradictory dynamics of the insurgent right. In contrast, this paper offers an analysis of emerging fascism under neoliberal circumstances grounded, on the one hand, on the economic, social, institutional and political transformations imposed by the transition from (different forms of) developmentalism to neoliberalism and, on the other hand, on the variegated impact of the global crisis of capital accumulation. Crucially, the paper argues that opposing neoliberal fascism requires transcending neoliberal capitalism itself.
Sofia Miranda Neves (University of East Anglia)
Paper short abstract:
Taking into Chiles's last failed constitutional process, which started with the social outburst of 2019, I aim to contribute to bringing insights into discourse dynamics, organisational power, and political engagement for structural changes and contest the rise of extreme rights politics.
Paper long abstract:
The second decade of the 21st century saw global social unrest, mirroring the crisis of capitalist hegemony. In October 2019, hundreds of thousands of Chileans protested living conditions, culminating in a plebiscite for a new constitution, and a constitutional process. Parliamentary actors regarded this process on the right and the progressive left as the answer to the people's demands in the street.
Lassalle contends that a constitution must be the legal expression of a society's material power relations. Drawing from interviews with the working class during Chilean fieldwork, I argue that the protests constituted a collective catharsis and not a revolutionary moment. While Chile has some strong organised social movements, such as the student and the feminist movement, workers have limited organisational power. The absence of a process for developing a new common sense representing the working class's interests, coupled with detachment from the constitutional convention, further alienated the people.
This, together with a worsening in economic conditions and a feeling of crime insecurity has created space for the rise of extreme right ideas rather than advance towards structural changes. This paper explores the dynamics of discourse, organisational power, and political engagement during social unrest and constitutional processes.
Aashish Xaxa (Indian Institute of Technology Gandhinagar)
Paper short abstract:
Indigenous Peoples can resist extractivist development from populist regimes around the world. This article analyses the indigenous resistance in the tribal state of Jharkhand, India, where despite having a majority in the 2014 state elections, the BJP could not change crucial land laws.
Paper long abstract:
The twenty-first century is marked with immense global warming and climate change. This can be seen as an anthropogenic crises, the result of almost three centuries of colonisation, industrialisation, and extractive scientific development. This has long-term, devastating consequences for the planet. This gets further accentuated with the rise of right-wing, conservative leaders and regimes, whose sole goal seems to be to harness more fossil fuel-led development projects with investments worth millions without paying any heed to sustainable alternatives. If this trend continues and is not paid heed to, then global competition for resources in response to environmental and climate crises is likely to intensify in the future. These populists often seek unchecked political power through emotional appeals to the defense of “the people”, land, and territory against an external enemy. This external enemy is often alternately framed in terms of ethnicity, race, class, minority status, citizenship, or otherwise. Yet there are several indigenous peoples around the world who resist such extractivist development. This article looks into indigenous resistance in the tribal state of Jharkhand in India. Despite winning a majority in the tribal state of Jharkhand in the 2014 elections, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) could not amend some critical and historical land laws that have been designed to protect tribal land from usurpation. This article offers an analysis as to how tribal/indigenous peoples’ resisted a major populist force like the BJP in the state of Jharkhand.
Christopher Stevens (York University)
Paper short abstract:
A series of panel data regressions on Afrobarometer individual-level data (from all rounds of the survey) and state-level data will be used to estimate the impact of a variety of factors such as gender, age, ideology, and social position on attendance at protests or demonstrations across Africa.
Paper long abstract:
Attendance at protests and demonstrations has long been an outlet for those left out of the broader democratic process in Africa to express their frustrations with elites, and governments, and to agitate for progressive change within their countries. Utilizing the fact that attendance at demonstrations and protests has been measured in every round of the Afrobarometer survey (with data from 1999 to 2023) across a wide swath of African states panel data regressions can be utilized to determine what underlying factors lead to increases and decreases in political mobilizations. Throughout the existing literature, age, gender, socioeconomic status, views on democracy and human rights, and a variety of state-level variables such as government type, corruption and levels of repression have been theorized as important in determining the likelihood of an individual to join in a protest or demonstration. By examining data from across an over twenty-year period, and from African states representing every potential state-level configuration, this paper can provide an unparalleled look at the individual-level factors which motivate individuals to attend protests and demonstrations. It opens the way for future research to better understand what kinds of individuals are likely to protest and under what circumstances, what conditions make it more difficult for those who wish to do so from attending, and what ideas, ideologies and views on social issues are the most important indicators for potential mobilization.