 What is that? ORGANIZED RESISTANCE is a concept of social movement I am currently working on for my project on nuclear politics in Indonesia.
What does it mean? Hmm….basically it’s about how various groups of civil society shared by a common concern on particular issues (e.g. risks of nuclear power in my case) have come to confront the big brother, i.e. the state that holds authority to create the problem-making (instead of problem-solving) policy.
What characterizes organized resistance is a network of multiple groups (in my case activists, academics, scientists, businessmen, religious leaders, labors, farmers, and local residents). These resisting groups organize information, agendas of action, and disseminate knowledge regarding the ensuing problem. They are all united by a common goal of rejecting, and to some cases, offering alternative approach to solving the perceived problem (e.g. energy security in my case).
What makes organized resistance unique is that it is a kind of self-organization capacity built by civil society to challenge technocratic policies. More importantly, it has capacity to develop its own intelligence using local resources and intellectualism.
This is just a tentative concept, so that's all I have for now. 
 | moyas wrote on Oct 25, '07 |
 | kind of different. it's more than just people's power |
 | it's interesting to see you step into social movement domain ;) yes, it's different than people power or even (spontaneous) collective resistance....
you need a set of processes --- a rhetoric landscape and networks of shared repertoire -- to transform mob/angry mass/sporadic mass resistance into organized resistance...
looking forward to reading your stuff. |
| republic wrote on Oct 25, '07, edited on Oct 25, '07 its something i didnt expect. getting involved with a bunch of activists suddenly opened my eyes about this specific phenomenon. david's new book opened my eyes even wider to understand that there is more to politics of technology than just elite conspiracy. you're absolutely right to point out those processes. it is more than just a crowd to create a resistance that is smart and powerful. more stories are on the way... |
 | reading (& learning) attentively ** menyimak sambil ngunyah kaastengles** |
| merlyna wrote on Oct 26, '07, edited on Oct 26, '07 ya, david hess's book opens up new discussion in sts. though, i think sts people are kinda slow in getting into social movement/activism issues. when i did my dissertation -- i used some social movement theories -- i found not many sts stuff related to activism, so i learned mostly from sociologists (from frankfurt school to nsm people). |
 | mas sulfikar, interesting. the term (OR) is in fact not new at all. especially when you look from civil society perspective. what makes it factual is the context in which it is addressed. when GMO was introduced, for example, the notion of OR was widely used. this is also the case with many other instances: WTO rounds, IMF's SAP, etc. you might want to look at the LSE's series of global civil society (annually published, since 2001). the 2005 and 2006 edition touch upon this issue rather deeply (which involves some contextual and recent issues). kaldor, anheier, and their peers (i believe also in the US) work on this subject since the 'battle of seattle' (nov 1999). good luck with your research.... and welcome to civil society's world ... :-) |
|  mas sulfikar, interesting. the term (OR) is in fact not new at all. especially when you look from civil society perspective. what makes it factual is the context in which it is addressed. when GMO was introduced, for example, the notion of OR was widely used. this is also the case with many other instances: WTO rounds, IMF's SAP, etc. you might want to look at the LSE's series of global civil society (annually published, since 2001). the 2005 and 2006 edition touch upon this issue rather deeply (which involves some contextual and recent issues). kaldor, anheier, and their peers (i believe also in the US) work on this subject since the 'battle of seattle' (nov 1999). good luck with your research.... and welcome to civil society's world ... :-)  i did find the term has been used in some books and events, including the seattle battle. thanks for those referernces. will look into that. civil society, here i come...!!! |
 | Pak Aso, bagaimana dengan peran LSM? mungkin mereka katalisatornya? Kita sering lihat di tv, kadang2 spanduk dan poster yang mereka di jinjing pentani, gelandangan, tukang becak, sangat rapi, dan seragam. Apakah mungkin itu sengaja dibagi-bagi oleh pihak2 tertentu? dan yang paling sebel, sekarang banyak juga protester yang wajahnya ditutup dari hidung ke bawah. Saya lihatnya kok aneh, ngapain takut menyembunyikan wajah? apa mungkin dia hanya ikut2an karena dibayar, jadi tidak sepenuh hati? well, anyway it's just my thought. |
 | salah satu yg menarik, menurut saya, ngeliat bagaimana interaksi multi level: dari mulai individu, kelompok kecil sampe negara. bagaimana ide/retorika mengalir melalui berbagai level ini. |
| mas sulfikar, interesting. the term (OR) is in fact not new at all. especially when you look from civil society perspective. what makes it factual is the context in which it is addressed. when GMO was introduced, for example, the notion of OR was widely used. this is also the case with many other instances: WTO rounds, IMF's SAP, etc. you might want to look at the LSE's series of global civil society (annually published, since 2001). the 2005 and 2006 edition touch upon this issue rather deeply (which involves some contextual and recent issues). kaldor, anheier, and their peers (i believe also in the US) work on this subject since the 'battle of seattle' (nov 1999). good luck with your research.... and welcome to civil society's world ... :-) definitely not new. it goes back more than four decades ago in social movement theories (SMT) back then scholars in SMT already am fluent in defining what organized resistance is and mechanisms on how resistance is built (it is related to the formulation/ dissemination of information, ideas, and rhetoric from macro to meso to micro level and vice versa)... it even goes back to Black Movement, feminist movement in 1960s... abortion issue... and in science and technology, you're right anti-GMO among farmers in many places.... and don't forget "anti-corporate" (read: anti-Telkom) "grass-root" Internet movement in Indonesia :)... and the list goes on and on...
actually outside STS, many people have written about this... |
| kutucyber: peran lsm sangat sentral. lha yang "ngomporin" petani2 itu kan mereka juga.
robym: setuju. thats exactly what i'm trying to look at. how rhetoric and discourse are chanelled through different groups. network is the keyword.
merlyna: you're right. it goes back to black movement in the south around 1940s. i guess my issue is not only how the resistance is organized through multiple groups, but how to transform the energy into something that has effects to policy. well, it's still a rough idea but i will definitely get deeper as the project moves along. |
| robymuhamad wrote on Oct 26, '07, edited on Oct 26, '07 but how to transform the energy into something that has effects to policy. ya menarik untuk tahu, "teknologi" apa yang dipakai para aktivis dll yang dipake untuk meng-operasionalisasikan energi ke policy |
| republic wrote on Oct 26, '07, edited on Oct 26, '07 robym: ya belum tahu juga. masih dalam proses. yang jelas udah ada non-gov think tank (seperti pelangi) yang menggarap kebijakan-enerji alternatif dengan menggunakan tool mereka sendiri.
rasti: equality emang perlu tapi dalam bentuk yang berbeda2 dalam arti setiap kelompok memainkan peran masing2 sesuai kapasitas. misalnya para ulama NU yg tidak ngerti soal nuklir tetapi meminta bantuan para ahli untuk memahami lebih jelas lalu dari situ mereka bahas dalam kerangka fikih sesuai kapasitas mereka. untuk network, saya lebih cenderung melihat pada discourse yang mengalir. struktur networknya sendiri sementara taken for granted karena saya tidak masuk kesitu (bukan ahlinya). kalo soal intelektualitas, saya sangat impressed ketika bertemu dengan teman2 di level grassroots bagaimana mereka dengan cerdas mengkritisi kebijakan nuklir dari mulai dari dimensi teknis hingga sosial. so we better dont underestimate them. |
| republic wrote on Oct 26, '07, edited on Oct 26, '07 strongly agree with this, although for sure this is not the main position that many scholars (especially the 'mainstream') has been taking. in GMO case in indonesia in early 2000, for example, friends in konphalindo, in jaker-PO, among others, engaged deeply with the issue, not only socially but also technically (and theoretically -- with help from many critical scholars). but it was sad seeing their 'voice' was muted for they were seen as 'non-expert' in the matter, that they're just "LSM activists" and not scholar in the area. so it is indeed interesting to see how different elements within CS organise themselves with regard to this PLTN Muria. looking forward to reading your piece, mas sul! thanx, yanuar. the good thing about anti-nuclear alliance, it covers not only grassroots in the rural but also those in the urban who got more knowledge about the issues. we know, for example, walhi and greenpeace, two most critical groups agiants NPP, equipped with knowledgeable crews (mostly from ITB with env and energy engineering backgrounds). at the local level, they're lucky they got pak lilo as the chair of MAREM who got a phd in energy engineering. in addition to that, a bunch of scientiests, engineers, law researchers are helping the movement to build counter narratives, sound and intelligent. of course, other groups are playing their own roles like farmers and labors, including big businessmen (most notably cigarette industry). so for now we say that BATAN is in checkmate. the problem is that some of the groups are simply nimby so if batan moves the site, for example to tuban or somewhere else in yogya, i'm afraid the movement is not flexible enough to move its resources to another site. and most likely this is what batan is going to play. |
| ynugroho wrote on Oct 26, '07, edited on Oct 26, '07 the problem is that some of the groups are simply nimby so if batan moves the site, for example to tuban or somewhere else in yogya, i'm afraid the movement is not flexible enough to move its resources to another site. and most likely this is what batan is going to play. wow, i never thought batan would play such a 'dangerous' move!! but, well, even if it did, i would not worry too much with regard to the OR. knowing CS' dynamics, sometimes they have a flexibility which goes beyond what we normally would think. let alone, if it were evident batan did this because of the OR in muria, don't you think the move would be "replied" by another form of OR? i bet that would even be more "interesting"! |
| wow, i never thought batan would play such a 'dangerous' move!! but, well, even if it did, i would not worry to much with regard to the OR. knowing CS' dynamics, sometimes they have a flexibility which goes beyond what we normally would think. let alone, if it were evident batan did this because of the OR in muria, don't you think the move would be "replied" by another form of OR? i bet that would even be more "interesting"! exactly thats what i'm keen to see to happen within few months ahead. the ball is in sby now since NPP requires a tactic team (waiting for sby's approval) to be implemented. sby seems reluctant due to the 2009 race but the temptation is so great. its either now or never. jk is reportedly to denounce the project. last week i got sms from an activist friend telling me that jk is going to announce his rejection on tv. but it didnt happen (i checked metro and liputan6 website, couldnt find anything on that, unless i missed it). but even jk said no and then he got elected, i have a feeling that he's going to do it anyway. the momentum is so huge at this particular moment as US has no substantial problem with indonesia npp and is even inclined to support it (today we had a meeting in EWC and i talked to a bureaucrat at US state dept about this). so back to OR, thats the thing i am expecting to come up. to what extent that anti-nuclear OR could play more flexibly within such a situation. in one meeting in semarang, someone threw an idea to lock the issue by pressing sby to legally abandon the project. but its not gonna work i guess since it is already explicitly mandated in propenas jangka menengah. Komisi 7 minus alvin lie and sonny keraf, is in full favor of that. now i'm sitting before my screen waiting something happen in jakarta until i get there next week for a short trip. more will come....
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| republic wrote on Oct 27, '07, edited on Oct 27, '07 a, david hess's book opens up new discussion in sts. though, i think sts people are kinda slow in getting into social movement/activism issues. just wanted to recomment on this. i think its not completely true as i check back again and found that some sts at rpi did some work on social movement like steve breymen and kim fortun. what makes david's book kinda novel is its observation on how social movement produces technological innovation whose process is totally different from that of conventional/business approach. and he's pretty good in linking this to mainstream sts theories. |
 | yuda wrote on Oct 27, '07 nggak tertarik organized resistences di lapindo to mas..?? hehee... |
| lapindo mah kasusnya beda, yud. kalo itu lebih tepat organized irresponsibility....:) |
| yuda wrote on Oct 28, '07 hahahahaa.....cappeekkk deee... sejumlah teman skrang tinggal di pasar baru "menemani" pengungsi... huhh beraattttttt... |
 | dartz wrote on Oct 28, '07 lho bukannya kita kekurangan listrik ?
koq gak liat iran ? saya sirik bener ama mereka...
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 | ah mau digiring kemana sih negara kita ? |
| moyas wrote on Nov 1, '07 david hess: "if science is politics by other means, then coalition politics can be actor-networks with other ends." (i.e. the activists can learn something useful from STS scholarship). |
Comment deleted at the request of the author. | |
