Resistance Studies as an Academic Pursuit

Resistance is both a common and somewhat unusual concept. It appears often in political debates and the media. Members of various non-governmental organizations and social movements also frequently use resistance when they refer to their various activities. In spite of the significant growth regarding the use of resistance during recent years, the discussion about the meaning and content of the concept, the ways resistance activities can be understood, as well as their potential impact, etc., is still rather divided and underdeveloped within academia. Hence, in spite of offering a necessary addition to the earlier focus on ‘power’ within the social sciences, the rapidly growing field of resistance studies is still very much in its infancy. This article is an attempt to introduce some of our main ideas on researching resistance in a systematized and structured fashion. One of the main arguments put forward in the article is that what qualifies as resistance is very much dependent on context, as the aim of various resistance practices also varies very much; so does its different articulations, as well as the ability of various activities to challenge political, legal, economic, social, and cultural structures in society—ultimately to achieve ‘social change’.