Kastrinou-Theodoropoulou, M

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Durham Anthropology Journal Volume 16(2) 2009: 3Ȃ7. Copyright © 2009 Maria Kastrinou- Theodoropoulou ISSN 1742-2930    3 DAJ 16/2                                                                         Kastrinou-Theodoropoulou                                                                            Editorial Note: Political Anthropology and the Fabrics of Resistance   Maria Kastrinou-Theodoropoulou Durham University  http://www.dur.ac.uk/anthropology.journal/vol16/iss2/kastrinou-theodoropoulou.pdf   Intricate social fabrics, processes and results, make the anthropological study of resistance both elusive and intriguing. Intriguing in the challenges it may or may not pose to power and/or domination; further intriguing because it demands close attention to what people do and say and say they do, and the necessary debates of interpretation and ideology it gives rise to. The word µUHVLVWDQFH¶DQGHQWDQJOHGWKHRUHWLFDOFRQFHpts have been eminent within social sciences at least VLQFHWKHWLPHRI0DU[/DWH)RXFDXOWXUJHVXVWRXVHUHVLVWDQFH³DVDFKHPLFDOFDWDO\VWVRDVWREULQJWROLJKWSRZHUUHODWLRQV´5HVLVWDQFHDSSHDUVLQDQWKURSRORJLFDOOLWHUDWXUHSURPLQHQWOy when scholars begin to become aware of their own historical and political positionality vis-à-vis the people of their studies (Asad 1973). Theoretically, post-colonialism and the study of agency combined with ethnographies about subaltern cultures make anthropologists aware that people can, and often do, appropriate and reappropriate their domination structures, crystallize and challenge their discourses. James Scott in 1985 published what was to become a breakthrough in studies of resistance: Weapons of the Weak: everyday forms of peasant resistance. An ethnographic catalyst in resistance studies, Weapons of the Weak shifts attention to everyday, ordinary, indirect strategies through which peasants play through symbolic sanctions with the limits of power imposed on them.   From Marx, Gramsci, Foucault and Scott, the processes and actualities of power/resistance are being debated.1 1RQHWKHOHVVWKHVWXG\RIUHVLVWDQFHFRQWLQXHVWRFRQVWLWXWH³DPLQHILHOGRIFRQFHSWXDOSUREOHPV´.HHVLQJLQ*OHGKLOOIRUDQXPEHURIUHDVRQV6RPHRIWKHVHLQFOXGHDdefinitional problem bound up with the history of ideas pertaining to issuHVDQGXVHVRIµUHVLVWDQFH¶which makes the term controversial at best if not biased. A second problem is the foundations of such anthropological studies on the bases of thick ethnographic exploration, so we could agree with Ortner on the luring presence RIDQ³HWKQRJUDSKLFUHIXVDO´  It was with a certain curiosity for the different paths in which people challenge or accommodate power through, and with an increasing anxiety about the multiple dimensions of resistance (both as praxis and as concept) that I put forward the call for submissions to a resistance issue of Durham Anthropology Journal (DAJ). And with a pervasive sense of urgency and necessity. The responses                                                  1 In accordance to the tradition in DAJ, I will try to keep this short and I will not go into the details of these debates (but see Comaroff & Comaroff 2002; Foucault 1982; Gledhill 2000; Gramsci 2006; Kurtz 1996; Lukes 2005; Mitchell 1990; Ortner 1995; Sahlins 1999; Scott 1985, 1990; Smith 2004).  Durham Anthropology Journal Volume 16(2) 2009: 3Ȃ7. Copyright © 2009 Maria Kastrinou- Theodoropoulou ISSN 1742-2930    4 DAJ 16/2                                                                         Kastrinou-Theodoropoulou                                                                          received are as varied as the ethnographic instances which they come from. Yet, what the five articles that we present here share the most between them is their defiance of classification.   Diverse and intriguing, these articles emphasise different aspects of political anthropology and the history of resistance, while calling for a greater exploration and debate, either by their meticulous scholarship, their ethnographic findings, or through provocation. They deal with aspects of µVXEDOWHUQLW\¶LQDYDULHW\RIZD\VDQGSHULRGVEULQJLQJWRTXHVWLRQRYHUWDQGFRYHUWDFWVRIresistance. The first three articles explore specific ethnographic cases and relate belief and ritual practices to wider historical, socio-economic and political contexts. The fourth article relates to a specific instance in the history of the theory and practice of resistance, while the fifth, an opinionated DUWLFOHGHDOVSURYRFDWLYHO\ZLWKDUHVLVWLQJµVXEDOWHUQLW\¶  3HWHU&ROOLQVLQKLVDUWLFOH³2Q5HVLVWDQFH7KH&DVHRIth &HQWXU\4XDNHUV´FKDOOHQJHV6FRWW¶Vreading of both 17th century peasant resistance and his portrayal of everyday forms of resistance as SULYDWHDQGµKLGGHQ¶7KURXJKDVFKRODUO\FDUHIXODQGZHOO-supported tracing of historical material (including primary resources reproduced in the article), Collins deals with the difficult and challenginJTXHVWLRQVRIZKDWPDNHVµUHDO¶UHVLVWDQFHWRZKDWH[WHQWSROLWLFDOHFRQRPLFDQGFXOWXUDOfactors affect resistance movements and strategies; the relationship between resistance and institutional power; and the question of whether resistance needs be revolutionary.  The main argument Collins brings against Scott is that Quaker resistance in 17th century England, as a movement and as evolving practices, was not at all hidden: on the contrary, it was provocative and public, and comprised of a complex politico-economic, religious and regional matrix.  Its acts of resistance were very public indeed (through the press) and organised (through pubic meetings), KLJKO\SURYRFDWLYHDJDLQVWWKHLQVWLWXWLRQDOSRZHURIVWDWHDQGFKXUFKDQGUHFHLYHGDQ³H[WUHPHO\reprHVVLYHDQGYLROHQWUHVSRQVHIURPVHFXODUDQGHFFOHVLDVWLFDODXWKRULWLHV´<HWWKH4XDNHUmovement actually thrived under the brutal force of opposition, while, interestingly, it started to shrink after its institutional tolerance, a century later.   EmanuHO9DOHQWLQLQ³5LWXDODV&XOWXUDO5HVHUYHDPRQJ6LFLOLDQ0LJUDQWVLQ*HUPDQ\´ZULWHVabout the rituals of a saint cult, as revitalised by Sicilian immigrants from Mirabella Imbaccari in Sindelfingen, Germany. The article deals with the revitalisation of the Maccarísian saint cult: the ³IHVWDGL6DQ*LXVHSSH´IHVWLYDORI6W-RVHSK9DOHQWLQWUDFHVWKHKLVWRULFDOFKDQJHVLQVRFLDODQGritual practices, especially as they appear through the complex processes of migration, modernisation and globalisation.   (WKQRJUDSKLFDOO\µWKLFN¶WKHDUWLFOHDFFRXQWVIRUWKHULWXDOFKDQJHVEHWZHHQWKHVRFLR-historical FRQWH[WVRI6LFLO\DQG*HUPDQ\XQGHUO\LQJWKH³LPSRUWDQFHRIVHHPLQJO\DQDFKURQLVWLFWUDGLWLRQDOIRUPV´DVRXWJURZWKVRIPRGHUQLW\DQGPLJUDWLRQDK\EULGFounter-reaction analysed here as ³FXOWXUDOUHVHUYHWKHGLDOHFWLFDOSURFHVVHVEHWZHHQUHVLVWDQFHDQGRYHUOD\´)DUIURPLPPLJUDQWVplaying a passive role in their host countries, Valentin shows how they actively create and re-create time, space and social KLHUDUFKLHVWKURXJKULWXDOZKLOVWDOVRµWUDGLWLRQDO¶ULWXDOWLPHDQGVSDFHDUHadapted to changing social hierarchies, like gender roles and conceptions of public-private space. As a complex process, cultural reserve is both an attempt to maintain reciprocal solidarity and resist subordination in shifting social landscapes, as well as a de facto effect of immigration.  Durham Anthropology Journal Volume 16(2) 2009: 3Ȃ7. Copyright © 2009 Maria Kastrinou- Theodoropoulou ISSN 1742-2930    5 DAJ 16/2                                                                         Kastrinou-Theodoropoulou                                                                          The triangular relationship between belief - politics - economics, in the heart of political anthropology, is put under the ethnographic miFURVFRSHLQ0DUN-DPLHVRQ¶VDUWLFOH³&RQWUDFWVZLWK6DWDQ5HODWLRQVEHWZHHQµVSLULWRZQHUV¶DQGDSSUHKHQVLRQVRIWKHHFRQRP\DPRQJWKHFRDVWDO0LVNLWXRI1LFDUDJXD´-DPLHVRQH[SORUHVKRZSHUFHSWLRQVRIµP\WKLFDO¶EHLQJVVXFKDVµVSLULWRZQHUV¶² dawanka) offer a window for exploration of present-day forms of exchange which, like the relationship between the Miskitu and their dawanka, are often mutually exploitative and destructive. Jamieson not only challenges the literature that presents relations with the supernatural as benign, but shows, using both history and ethnography, that such relations and perceptions are interconnected with changing historical and economic realities.  The article firstly situates the dawanka within ethnographic, linguistic and cosmological contexts. Secondly, it describes the relations between dawanka, RIWHQUHIHUUHGWRDVµVDWDQV¶DQGKXPDQbeings: relations of inequality, amorality and asymmetrical exchange, relations of luring but XOWLPDWHO\GDQJHURXVµFRQWUDFWV¶7KHQ-Dmieson ventures on the troubled history and political economy of the Miskitu, situating the narratives of dawanka within the broader historical contexts of the rise of asymmetrical relations. Jamieson shows that indeed Miskitu relations of production have been asymmetrical and exploitative, and argues that this exploitative interaction between humans and non-humans is a direct commentary/reflection of the historical socio-economic position of the Miskitu population. Since the traditional role of the dawanka in representing socially constitutive µF\FOHVRIH[FKDQJH¶KDVEHHQUHQGHUHGUHGXQGDQW-DPLHVRQDUJXHVWKDWWKHVHH[WUDRUGLQDU\EHLQJVKDYHFRPHWRH[SODLQ³WKHP\VWHULHVRIZHDOWKJHQHUDWLRQZLWKLQDQRSDTXHFDVKHFRQRP\´  Simone Panter-%ULFN¶VDUWLFOH³*DQGKL¶V'UHDPRI+LQGX-Muslim Unity and its two Offshoots in the 0LGGOH(DVW´LVDKLVWRULFDOH[SORUDWLRQRIVRPHRIWKHPRVWFRQWURYHUVLDODFWLRQVXQGHUWDNHQE\RQHRIWKHZRUOG¶VUHQRZQHGH[HPSODUVRIUHVLVWDQFH7KHDUWLFOHRIIHUVDFDSWLYDWLQJDQG compact KLVWRULFDODQDO\VLVRI0DKDWPD*DQGKL¶VSROLWLFDOH[SHULPHQWVZLWKQRQ-violent resistance, providing a contextual historical account of his political campaigns beginning with Africa in 1906 and leading up to WWII. Panter-Brick brings to light new HYLGHQFHRI*DQGKL¶VGRXEOHLQYROYHPHQWLQWKH$UDE-Israeli conflict, an involvement kept secret for decades; touching upon issues of resistance as perceived and embodied by Gandhi.    In this context, Panter-%ULFNTXHULHVDERXW*DQGKL¶VGUHDPRI+LQGX-Muslim unity, as well as who ZHUHWKHEHQHILFLDULHVRI*DQGKL¶VSROLWLFDOFDPSDLJQV7KURXJKDZHOO-rounded historical and ELRJUDSKLFDODSSURDFKVKHSURYLGHVWKHFRQWH[WVRI*DQGKL¶VDFWLRQVDVWKH\UHODWHWRKLVWKHRU\RIresistance ² resistance as non-vioOHQFHRUµDGKHUHQFHWRWKHWUXWK¶satyagraha. Presenting aspects of 0DKDWPD¶VWKRXJKWDQGDFWLRQVWKHDUWLFOHGLVFXVVHVWKHUHDOLWLHVVXFFHVVHVDQGIDLOXUHVRIQRQ-violence as a means of political resistance, simultaneously revealing the details of his secret and paradoxical involvement in the Middle East.   3DQDJLRWLV3DSDGLPLWURSRXORV¶DUWLFOH³7UDQFH'DQFH5LWXDODQG%HOLHI´IRFXVHVRQWKHHPHUJHQFHof a modern subaltern culture, that of psychedelic trance music and dance. Papadimitropoulos provides a short history of how this subculture came to be and how it is built on the idea of resistance DJDLQVWµPRGHUQLVDWLRQ¶E\LWVHPSKDVLVRQDQLPDJLQDWLRQRIDµSXUH¶SDVWEHLQJµLQWRXFK¶ZLWKnature. This imagination, we are shown, combines, essentialises and exoticises diverse cultural IRUPDWLRQVVXFKDVSHUFHSWLRQVRIVKDPDQLVP$VDµUHDFWLRQ¶WRPRGHUQLVDWLRQLQWXUQWKLVPRYHPHQWLVEDVHGRQUHFHQWKLVWRULFDODQGSROLWLFDOO\VLWXDWHGGLFKRWRPLHVEHWZHHQµ:HVW¶DQGµUHVW¶µQDWXUH¶DQGµFXOWXUH¶Ds well as an evolutionary essentialisation of Otherness.  Durham Anthropology Journal Volume 16(2) 2009: 3Ȃ7. Copyright © 2009 Maria Kastrinou- Theodoropoulou ISSN 1742-2930    6 DAJ 16/2                                                                         Kastrinou-Theodoropoulou                                                                           3DSDGLPLWURSRXORV¶DUWLFOHSUHVHQWVDQLQWHUHVWLQJDUUD\RIPDWHULDOUDQJLQJIURPHWKQRJUDSK\KLVWRU\ULWXDOVWXGLHVWRELRORJ\+LVDUJXPHQWFDSWXUHVERWKWKHVRFLDOFRQWH[WVRIWKHVXEFXOWXUH¶s formation, as well as the possible cognitive reasons for the resilience of a specific music and dance style. This article, audacious in the range of material it presents, acts like a trigger, a direct provocation to the kinds of literature we would usually read in an anthropological publication, and as such we hope will give rise to further debate.   Many thanks to all contributors, not only for their submissions but also for their patience. A special thank to Dr. Claudia Merli and Dr. Stephen M. Lyon, present and former general editors of DAJ respectively, for their warm support and invaluable guidance. I am grateful to all the postgraduate peer-reviewers of Durham Anthropology Department for their help. To be the guest editor of an issue dedicated to political anthropology and the ethnographic fabrics of resistance has been both a pleasure and a struggle. The necessity of political analyses emerging from fine-grained ethnographic VWXGLHVEHFRPHVDOOWKHPRUHYLVLEOHDV,¶PZULWLQJWKLVIURPWKHµILHOG¶, hope the reader will enjoy this issue and find it inspiring.   $VDWUDYHOOHUIULHQGZURWHWRPH³QRZPRUHWKDQHYHUWRUHVLVWLVLPSRUWDQW´  Amilla Maria Anthi Kastrinou Theodoropoulou   References  Asad, T. (ed.). 1973. Anthropology and the colonial encounter. New York: Ithaca Press. Comaroff, J., and J. Comaroff. 2002. Of revelation and revolution. In J. Vincent (ed.), The anthropology of politics: A reader in ethnography, theory, and critique. Oxford: Blackwell Publishers.  Foucault, M. 1982. The subject and power. Critical Inquiry 8(4): 777±795. Gledhill, J. (ed.). 2000. Power and its disguises: Anthropological perspectives on politics. London: Pluto Press.  Gramsci, A. 2006. State and civil society. In A. Sharma and A. Gupta (eds), The anthropology of the state. Oxford: Blackwell Publishing. Kurtz, D.V. 1996. Hegemony and anthropology: Gramsci, exegeses, reinterpretations. Critique of Anthropology 16(2): 103±135. Lukes, S. 2005. Power: A radical view. 2nd ed. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan. Mitchell, T. 1990. Everyday metaphors of power. Theory and Society 19(5): 545±577. Ortner, S.B. 1995. Resistance and the problem of ethnographic refusal. Comparative Studies in Society and History 37(1): 173±193. Sahlins, M. 1999. What is anthropological enlightenment? Some lessons of the twentieth century. Annual Review of Anthropology 28: i±xxiii. Durham Anthropology Journal Volume 16(2) 2009: 3Ȃ7. Copyright © 2009 Maria Kastrinou- Theodoropoulou ISSN 1742-2930    7 DAJ 16/2                                                                         Kastrinou-Theodoropoulou                                                                          Scott, J.C. 1985. Weapons of the weak: Everyday forms of peasant resistance. London: Yale University Press. Smith, G. 2004. Hegemony. In D. Nugent and J. Vincent (eds), A companion to the anthropology of politics. Oxford: Blackwell Publishing.   

Editorial Note: Political Anthropology and the Fabrics of Resistance

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Editorial Note: Political Anthropology and the Fabrics of Resistance

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