Everyday Forms of Resistance

Descriptions and analyses of open political action dominate accounts of political conflict. This is the case whether those accounts are presented by historians, political scientists, journalists, statesmen, or leaders of popular movements. Some of the most telling analyses of conflict are in fact designed precisely to explain under what circumstances groups in conflict resort to one or another kind of open political action. Thus, why some groups under certain conditions are likely to employ violent forms of political action -e.g. riots, rebellion, revolutionary movements -rather than less violent formse.g. petitions, rallies, peaceful marches, protest voting, strikes, boycotts -has occupied center stage. As aresult of careful historical comparisons social scientists have begun to grasp how certain social structures, state systems, cultural values, and historical practices help shape political action.