On Subversion. From Postmodernism to the Jihad
12. July 2011
Dr. Thomas Rid (London)
Discussant: Dr. Sara Farris (Amsterdam)
Recent scholarship of political violence is generating large amounts of output. But focussing on insurgency, militancy, extremism, irregular conflict, and terrorism risks losing sight of crucial dynamics. These martial terms come with heavy baggage full of problems. A novel approach is needed.
Subversion brings into fresh focus the enhancing as well as limiting role of networks, the significance of emotions, and the variations of motivating causes. Subversive thought and activism spans a wide spectrum: it may be a productive force of social progress — or it may pave the way for a destructive regression into violence.
Under what conditions, then, is subversion a constructive social phenomenon? When is subversion likely to flip and become illegal? How may subversion turn violent? And when is it likely to mature into insurrection? Thomas Rid will try cutting a conceptual path through surprisingly unexplored yet fertile territory.
12 July 2011, 6 pm
University of Konstanz, Seeburg, Seeweg 5, Kreuzlingen CH
Contact
Fred Girod
fred.girod[at]uni-konstanz.de