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[av_heading heading='Editorial by Jørgen Johansen and Craig S. Brown' tag='h3' style='blockquote classic-quote' size='' av_uid='av-4f7f0v'] [/av_heading] [av_hr class='short' height='50' shadow='no-shadow' position='center' custom_border='av-border-thin' custom_width='50px' custom_border_color='' custom_margin_top='30px' custom_margin_bottom='30px' icon_select='yes' custom_icon_color='' icon='ue808' font='entypo-fontello' av_uid='av-8ej7j']

[av_heading heading='Article by Janne Flyghed' tag='h3' style='blockquote classic-quote' size='' ] [/av_heading] [av_hr class='short' height='50' shadow='no-shadow' position='center' custom_border='av-border-thin' custom_width='50px' custom_border_color='' custom_margin_top='30px' custom_margin_bottom='30px' icon_select='yes' custom_icon_color='' icon='ue808' font='entypo-fontello'] Since the law on universal conscription was passed 1901, there has been a debate in Sweden concerning how to deal with those who refuse military service. The state faces a dilemma: on the one hand maintaining the law on conscription, while on the other allowing the right to conscientious objection. The objective of this article is to scrutinize how the Swedish state has tried to solve this dilemma. At the beginning of the 20th century, those who refused to fulfill the fundamental duty of military service were not regarded as deserving any kind of legal protection. Their actions questioned the consensus on the need for a military defense, and therefore had to be punished. But it did not take long until this view was modified, and a law was established that opened up the option of community service for conscientious objectors. In that way, the legislators created a buffer in the conflict between pro-militarists and anti-militarists. As long as the objectors stayed in the buffer construction, they did not represent any threat towards military defense. On the contrary, they even served as proof that the state respected human rights. The opposition was in that manner divided into two parts; those who accepted community service and those who did not. The latter, who did not accept the state’s offer of community service, were sentenced to prison. Since 1901, the legislator’s main strategy to tackle opposition towards military defense has been a combination of co-optation via community service and repression via prison for those who do not accept that service. It has been of great concern for the lawmakers to keep the number of the latter, the total resisters, sentenced to prison as low as possible. If the number becomes too high, it will cause debate and criticism, both in public and in the parliament. The lawmakers have responded by modifying the prison sentence and changing the construction of the buffer.

[av_heading heading='Article by Reynaldo Tapia' tag='h3' style='blockquote classic-quote' size='' ] [/av_heading] [av_hr class='short' height='50' shadow='no-shadow' position='center' custom_border='av-border-thin' custom_width='50px' custom_border_color='' custom_margin_top='30px' custom_margin_bottom='30px' icon_select='yes' custom_icon_color='' icon='ue808' font='entypo-fontello'] Bolivia presents a unique case of the effectiveness of nonviolent resistance aimed not only at countering neoliberal policies but also changing the power relations within the country. This article examines how nonviolent resistance was  implemented and transformed in Bolivia during six neoliberal administrations, from 1982 to 2003. The economic solutions touted by the Washington Consensus gave rise to the emergence of counter-hegemonic social movements that rejected and opposed Western ideals of neoliberalism. For a little over two decades and six Bolivian administrations, the government promoted these neoliberal policies of state deregulation, liberalization of trade, and the privatization of public enterprises. The imposed economic principles of neoliberalism provided the opportunity for mass mobilization of union workers, miners, campesinos, cocaleros, university students, political activists, and community leaders. From hunger strikes to road blockades, mass protests, and marches, this article describes the benefits and outcomes of nonviolent resistance campaigns and will detail how these nonviolent strategies were used to fight against government sponsored neoliberal economic reforms.

[av_heading heading='Article by Hilde Ibsen, Penelope Engel-Hills, and Carolina Jernbro' tag='h3' style='blockquote classic-quote' size='' ] [/av_heading] [av_hr class='short' height='50' shadow='no-shadow' position='center' custom_border='av-border-thin' custom_width='50px' custom_border_color='' custom_margin_top='30px' custom_margin_bottom='30px' icon_select='yes' custom_icon_color='' icon='ue808' font='entypo-fontello'] South Africa is listed as one of the most unequal societies in the world. Communities in this country face the aftermath of apartheid segregation, coupled with present neoliberal development strategies that impede socio-economic improvements and profound societal change. This has brought rise to high-risk areas where people experience societal neglect and, drawing on Johan Galtung’s work, we argue that this neglect constitutes structural violence, understood as something natural ‘as the air around us’ that upholds inequality and injustice. Within this context people are no longer willing to accept the status quo. Through ethnographic accounts, we explore over an extended time period how residents living in the particular community of Ocean View, on the Cape Peninsula, have developed repertoires of resistance, and how resistance tactics might impact on social change. The analysis reveals how variants of constructive and everyday resistance work together in parallel and overlap, and it also provides deep contextual understanding about how the dynamics between different types of resistance have the potential for generating short- and long-term outcomes. Our empirical findings suggest that short- term outcomes included heightened solidarity within the community; people contributed to the building of individual capacity, and put pressure on those in power to react to the issues of neglect. Outcomes related to long-term effects are more complex, although one important finding is that resistance contains imagination and hope for a desired future. Thereby, our article contributes to the empirical categories of resistance studies and the call for in-depth analysis of possible outcomes.

[av_heading heading='Classical Book Review by Sean Chabot: Hind Swaraj, 1909' tag='h3' style='blockquote classic-quote' size='' ] [/av_heading] [av_hr class='short' height='50' shadow='no-shadow' position='center' custom_border='av-border-thin' custom_width='50px' custom_border_color='' custom_margin_top='30px' custom_margin_bottom='30px' icon_select='yes' custom_icon_color='' icon='ue808' font='entypo-fontello']

[av_heading heading='Reviews by Majken Jul Sørensen and Shima Tadrisi' tag='h3' style='blockquote classic-quote' size='' ] [/av_heading] [av_hr class='short' height='50' shadow='no-shadow' position='center' custom_border='av-border-thin' custom_width='50px' custom_border_color='' custom_margin_top='30px' custom_margin_bottom='30px' icon_select='yes' custom_icon_color='' icon='ue808' font='entypo-fontello']