There will be a panel on resistance studies on Feb 17. If there are more people from the network coming to the conference, it would be great to meet up. Let us know if that is the case. Email to me: write “stellan.vinthagen” and then add “@” and after that you add “resistancestudies.org”.

See you in New Orleans!

I’m for the moment collecting information for a report on what the authoritarian regimes are doing to prevent masses of unarmed protesters to successfully remove unpopular regimes.

As we have seen in Iran and many other places the old power-holders have closed down internet and mobile phone systems to prevent the opposition from communicating internally and inform the rest of the world on what is going on. In Burma they moved the capital to a remote place in the forest and closed the new city. This was obviously done to prevent demonstrations outside the legislative buildings. In China we have recently seen activists from the opposition disappearing. In Russia NGOs are not allowed to receive money from external donors. In Belarus it is more and more difficult to register NGOs. Curfews, brutal police violence, extensive surveillance,…. The list is very long on actions by governments to prevent the opposition from succeeding.

I’m trying to get an overview over what is done by governments and other power-holders to reduce the efficiency of oppositional movements. In this work I need help and are asking everyone to send me reliable cases, stories, and reports on these types of activities. Please provide me with sources when possible.

All info could be sent to johansen (dot) jorgen (at) gmail (dot) com

I promise to send each informant a copy of the report when it is done.

The conference is organized by the War Resisters International. Among the key speakers are the world renouned author and anti-militarist activist Arundathi Roy, toghether with Medha Patkar from the resistance movement NBA against the Narmada dam project and Ashis Nandy, a famous gandhian author. You find more information about the conference here.

Depending on time and Internet availability we hope to give a report during the conference. Stay tuned!

“There is an inescapable link between the globalisation-induced displacement, dis-employment and dispossession that are results of internal wars and ravage local, traditional and indigenous natural-resource based communities everywhere. There is a linkage between these and the monstrous international wars - whether they are fought in Afghanistan, Iraq, Congo or Somalia. The biggest challenge therefore is to build alliances that are local and global at the same time, and those that not only resist injustice but also present alternatives.” 

Medha Patkar

Link to the site: http://irevolution.wordpress.com/

Due to the lack of time, we send this out the schedule for the first seminar 2010. Our goal is to provide a comprehensive schedule for the whole spring, now in early January. It will be posted here at the website as soon as it is done. 

We will continue as usual every other Thursday, starting January 7 with Cathrin Wasshede.

Cathrin Wasshede is a doctoral student since spring 2002. Her research focuses on the construction of gender and sexuality among young political activists in the extraparliamentary movement on the political left. Her research interests include feminist theory, political culture, identity, social movements, and questions related to methodology. Her seminar will be held in Swedish and details are listed below.

Motstånd och gränserfarenheter: Inordnandet av människor i köns- och sexualitetskategorier fungerar som en disciplinerande och subjektiverande kraft. Vi blir till som subjekt, vi blir människor och vi blir begripliga. På detta seminarium belyser jag motstånd mot detta i form av disidentifikation och abjektifiering, d v s en verbaliserad form av abjekt/abjektion, utifrån mitt pågående avhandlingsarbete i sociologi. När den förkastade positionen används som utgångspunkt för motståndet – exempelvis genom att, som några av aktivisterna i mitt material gör, ”använda smutsen som vapen” eller identifiera sig som intergendered - utmanas och överskrids gränser mellan det inkluderade och det exkluderade, det begripliga och det obegripliga. Kan dessa gränserfarenheter bidra till förändring av den heteronormativa könsmaktsordningen?

For those who want to familiarize themselves with Cathrin Wasshedes research we recommend this paper: Den Gode, den Onde, den Normale: Motstånd och ambivalens – unga aktivistmän i närkamp med heterosexualitet (Download directly by clicking on the link). 

See you, as usual Thursday 15:15-17.00 at room 403 at the Annedalseminariet; Seminariegatan 1A, close to Linnéplatsen. After the seminar there is a post-seminar gathering at restaurant Gyllene Prag (Sveag. 25) from 17:00 and onwards. We eat, drink and continue the discussions from the seminar in a more informal way. You are welcome to attend even if you was not at the seminar!

The new organizer, from January 2010 and onwards, of the Resistance Studies Seminars is Per Ström. If you want to suggest a seminar, one you yourself make a presentation or one were you know someone who could be interested to make a seminar, feel welcome to mail to Per. He can be contacted at: write “per.strom” and then @ and add “yahoo.se”

But we have also seen a number of serious attempts of similar strategies: popular demonstrations, general strikes, boycott and massive civil disobedience - but with a failure to produce a revolutionary change. E.g. in Burma 1988 and 2007; in Palestine during the late 1980s in the “first intifada”; in China at the Tianamen Square 1989; in Iran this summer and in Belarus during the last election. What do these cases have in common that makes them fail? Or are they all unique cases with special reasons for the failure (so far) in creating a strong enough “people power” that forces the regime to change?

Since this is something we are looking at in our Nordic Nonviolence Study Group, we would be happy if there are any suggestions of literature, factors, processes, or other helpful ideas of how to understand these cases.

We have seen the biggest climate demonstration in the world history. About 100 000 people demonstrated on Dec 12 2009. We have also seen several smaller nonviolent actions, e.g. against the Coal Factory DONG in Copenhagen, against the closed EU borders against environmental refugees, for an ecological small scale agriculture and against a consumption lifestyle that destroys our planet. During Dec 16 some 1 000 activists took part in the mass-direct action in which the movement tried to create a “Peoples Assembly” inside the official conference area. Totally over 1 500 activists have been arrested  during the last week. Many activists have been wounded and Copenhagen has been transformed into a police state. It is still too early to evaluate the results of the resistance. We will have reasons to come back to that.

In the meantime here are some links where you can find more information about the various resistance done in the new Global Climate Justice Movement:

http://www.climateroots.org/dru/

http://en.cop15.dk/

http://www.erantis.com/events/denmark/copenhagen/climate-conference-2009/index.htm

http://www.foei.org/en/what-we-do/un-climate-talks/global/2009/the-flood-is-coming

http://www.motkraft.net/nyheter/3557

http://www.climate-justice-action.org/

http://www.klimaforum09.org/?lang=da

http://12dec09.dk/

http://notyourbusiness.hacklab.dk/

http://www.global-n30-callout.org/

http://nevertrustacop.org/

On Sunday there will also be a uniqe “Academic Conference Blockade”. An academic conference in which researchers, lectureres and other academics will present research papers on climate issues while simultanously doing civil disobedience and blockade in the harbor, stoping climate destructive activity and thus, taking their responsibility for their academic analysises of the need to act and stop climate change. It is theory and practice combined, a form of “engaged academia”. At this conference blockade I will present a paper with the title: “A Proposal of a ‘Panel on Climate Justice’: 7 theses and the ‘Pope Model’”

The police are mobilized from all over Denmark and new legal measures are used creating virtually a state of emergency in Copenhagen, as well as special jails for protesters in what is called a “Climate Guantanamo”.

Reports will be given here on the blog as soon as we have interesting materials to reveal about the ongoing mobilization of a new global movement: the Climate Justice Movement.

The report was published in July 2009 and is now online on the website of the Anti-Apartheid Wall Campaign, with a summary and in full, possible to download.

Lisa Westberg is minister in the Swedish Church, Teol. Mag. (2007), and Bach. of Fine Arts - International Politics and Global Ethics (1994); Hatha Yoga Cert. Teacher and community gardener. 

The seminar is in English, will happen the 3 Dec at 15:15-17:00 at Annedalsseminariet, Campus Linné, Gotheburg, Sweden, in Room  403 (see directions at www.globalstudies.gu.se). After the seminar we will gather at the Resturant Gyllene Prag and eat and continue the discussions (from 17:15-). More information on the seminar exist at the link “Seminars” above.

Everyone welcome!