Humour in Political Activism: Creative Nonviolent Resistance PDF
Preview Humour in Political Activism: Creative Nonviolent Resistance
HUMOUR IN POLITICAL ACTIVISM creative nonviolent resistance majken jul sørensen Humour in Political Activism Majken Jul Sørensen Humour in Political Activism Creative Nonviolent Resistance Majken Jul Sørensen University of Wollongong Australia Karlstad University Sweden ISBN 978-1-137-57345-2 ISBN 978-1-137-57346-9 (eBook) DOI 10.1057/978-1-137-57346-9 Library of Congress Control Number: 2016949260 © Th e Editor(s) (if applicable) and Th e Author(s) 2016 Th e author(s) has/have asserted their right(s) to be identifi ed as the author(s) of this work in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. Th is work is subject to copyright. All rights are solely and exclusively licensed by the Publisher, whether the whole or part of the material is concerned, specifi cally the rights of translation, reprinting, reuse of illustrations, recitation, broadcasting, reproduction on microfi lms or in any other physical way, and trans- mission or information storage and retrieval, electronic adaptation, computer software, or by similar or dissimilar methodology now known or hereafter developed. Th e use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc. in this publication does not imply, even in the absence of a specifi c statement, that such names are exempt from the relevant protective laws and regulations and therefore free for general use. Th e publisher, the authors and the editors are safe to assume that the advice and information in this book are believed to be true and accurate at the date of publication. Neither the publisher nor the authors or the editors give a warranty, express or implied, with respect to the material contained herein or for any errors or omissions that may have been made. Cover illustration: © Maren Wischnewski / Alamy Stock Photo Printed on acid-free paper Th is Palgrave Macmillan imprint is published by Springer Nature Th e registered company is Macmillan Publishers Ltd. London For Howard Clark Acknowledgements M any people supported me in the process of writing this book. Brian Martin was the most supportive and encouraging supervisor one can imagine, and his gentle guidance cheered me on in moments of doubt. Th e I nternational Postgraduate Tuition Award and the U niversity Postgraduate Award from the University of Wollongong made it possible for me to carry out this research. I’m also grateful for the two grants from the Faculty of Arts Fund for Higher Degree Research conference and research support in 2011 and 2012. When I have been in Australia, many colleagues have helped me feel at home and given useful feedback. I’m especially grateful to Ian Miles, Sharon Beder, Richard Gosden, Jason MacLeod, Jody Warren, Brendan Riddick and Mary Scott. In Sweden, the Resistance Studies group at the University of Gothenburg welcomed me at their seminars in spite of the lack of offi cial affi liation and also arranged for me to present and discuss my thesis at a public seminar in August 2014. Brian Palmer, Véronique Dudouet and Håkan Th örn all kindly agreed to read and comment on the manuscript at this event. Martin Smedjeback, Janne Flyghed, Daniel Ritter and Henrik Frykberg have spent numerous hours commenting on drafts and suggested many useful changes and additions. Since 2002, Stellan Vinthagen has been my mentor when it comes to the study of nonviolent resistance. In addition to sharing valuable insights from the mysterious workings of the world vii viii Acknowledgements of academia during the following decade, Stellan has made constructive and critical comments on many drafts. Th ere are no words to express how much this has meant to me. My deeply felt gratitude goes to all the activists who have dared to experiment with humour in a world of persistent seriousness and espe- cially to those who were willing to be interviewed and participate in workshops and so enthusiastically shared their experiences and refl ections with me. Because I promised them anonymity, they cannot be named, but you know who you are. In Ofog, you all contributed to make me feel welcome and fi nd a place to belong and laugh together. Cecilie Fonnesbech advised me on some translation challenges. Tormod Otter Johansen helped out with how best to translate and explain legal concepts. Tormod, Anna Johansen and Malene Raben Jørgensen opened their homes to me when I was staying overnight in Gothenburg and Copenhagen to do research. I have appreciated the support from Palgrave Macmillan, especially my editor Harriet Barker and her assistant Amelia Derkatsch. For help with translation and identifying the new examples from Th ailand and Colombia, I’m grateful to Janjira Sombatpoonsiri and Javier Gárate Neidhardt. Estefanía Gómez was tremendously helpful in explain- ing the clown actions in Colombia, and Sombat Boonngam-anong the Red Sunday actions in Th ailand. Th e examples from Burma, Russia and Poland which appear in Chap. 3 were also included in my article “Humorous Political Stunts: Speaking ‘Truth’ to Power?”, published on pages 69–83 in the European Journal of Humour Research volume 1, num- ber 2 in 2013. Some of the examples of Ofog’s clowning in Chap. 4 also appear in the article “Radical Clowning—Challenging Militarism through Play and Otherness”, published in H umor: International Journal of Humor Research, volume 28, number 1, 2015, pages 25–47. I dedicate this work to my dear friend Howard Clark, who was such an inspiration as an activist and researcher and passed away suddenly in 2013. With his great sense of humour, Howard loved the subject of this book but unfortunately never got to read it. F inally, my partner and life companion Jørgen Johansen deserves more thanks than can be expressed in words—for always loving me, supporting me and believing in my capacity to become a good researcher. Contents 1 Introduction 1 2 Humour and Pockets of Resistance 5 3 Humorous Political Stunts from Around the World 35 4 Facilitating Outreach, Mobilisation and a Culture of Resistance 75 5 Confronting the State Th rough Humorous Political Activism 111 6 Dilemmas and Risks in Humorous Political Activism 139 7 Humorous Political Stunts and Th eory of Nonviolent Action 169 ix
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