The Right Not to be Governed (Like That)? Democracy, Authoritarian Rule and Social Activism in a State of Emergency

In 1981, Michel Foucault gave a speech at the UN conference in Geneva entitled ‘Confronting Governments: Human Rights’, in which he described human rights as those rights that allow individuals to speak out against any abuse of power, to stand up and speak to those in power, to intervene effectively, to make a place for themselves and to set some limit to governments (Foucault, 2002: 474-5). His conception of human rights closely relates with the question 'how not to be governed like that, by that, in the name of this principle, in view of such objectives and by the means of such methods' (Foucault, 1997: 28). This Section revolves around this question at the intersection of state of emergency, authoritarianism, democracy and social activism. The starting point is the observation that various situations in recent decades (e.g. terrorist attacks, migration, economic crises and pandemics) have led governments to consider these conditions as existential threats to their nations, public order and security. To counter such threats, governments have repeatedly resorted to measures that – in the name of protecting order – have involved the temporary suspension of legal guarantees and democratic procedures. In these contexts, it could no longer be ignored that the political institutions that sustain existing democracies have been weakened from the top down, showing that some of the core democratic values are under threat. In 2020, the unprecedented Covid-19 pandemic demonstrated clearly that there is a cultural basis for authoritarian governance at grassroots level. This manifested in demand for strong leadership, the willingness of citizens to give up individual freedoms, and a sharp increase in support for technocratic and authoritarian governance (Amat, 2020). On the other hand, this situation also revealed a strong democratic consciousness, because the social closure and restrictive government measures were accompanied by social protests, activism and resistance cultures, as well as court decisions that, in some cases, overturned unconstitutional government measures. This Section aims to shed light on the complex and multi-layered relationship between state of emergency, authoritarianism, democracy and social activism. It welcomes Papers that describe particular states of emergency in the context of their respective events, issues, perspectives, restriction measures, political actions, meanings and processes, as well as in relation to collective identities, patterns of belief, emotions, values and behaviour in the social context of grassroots activism. The Section invites Papers that look at the relationships between state of emergency and social activism, and explore how social movements are invented and implemented in response to crises. Contributions should offer insight into the institutions of government, the processes of democratic strengthening and decline, and the power and influence of civil society and activism in states of emergency. Selected Papers will be considered for publication in a special issue of two journals: Javnost - The Public https://javnost-thepublic.org/ Monitor ISH https://en.ish.si/ The Section foresees eight Panels which include but are not limited to: 1 Governing State of Emergency and Social Activism in (non) Democratic Regimes • Emergency measures from the perspective of constitutionalism • Aspects that facilitate or prevent democratic backsliding • Social activism as a threat to nation, public order and security. • Enforcement of obedience to a central authority at the expense of personal freedoms • Polarisation and political interests in a state of emergency • Social activism, trust in political institutions and identity politics • ... 2 Social Activism within the Complex Relationship with the State (in Emergency) • Social activism as a result of emergency measures • Shaping state institutional policies through social activism • Activism's role in democratization and government performance • Political elites and their attempts to engage in social activism • Non-democratic regimes and their actions against independent civil organisations • Efforts to suppress, damage or facilitate social movements • ... 3 State of Emergency, (Online) Media and Social Activism • Media narratives about state of emergency, activism and resistance • Ownership, political interference and restriction of freedom of the press • Information suppression, censorship and (un)democratic media engagement • The dynamics of cyber-activism, social networks and social media • Communication networks, computer-mediated communication, and empowerment • (Digital) repression and control of social activism • ... 4 Symbolic Dimension of Collective Mobilisation and State of Emergency • Symbolic politics, states and their response to a state of emergency • Symbolic frames of social activism and collective identities • Collective memory and cultural conflict between different actors • Cultural understandings, norms, meanings and rationales for actions • Cultural change as a result of activism • Values, cultural resources and constraints that shape social movement activism • ... 5 Emotions and Social Psychological Accounts of Activism and State of Emergency • The role of emotions in experiencing and reacting to states of emergency • Emotional foundations of politics of collective mobilisation • Activism in interactions between emotions, values and identities • Collective action, collective solidarity, collective responsibility • (Social) Media narratives on emotions capitalising on social activism • ... 6 New and Old Forms of Political Engagement in the State of Emergency • New demands for individual participation in a state of emergency • Social transformations, new conflicts, new claims • Street politics, virtual and hybrid actions • Political participation of minorities and marginalised communities • Rise of radical, right-wing actors and identitarian movements • Transnational activism • ... 7 Methods, Strategies and Tactics in Social Movements in a State of Emergency • Understanding the prerequisites for the implementation of social change • Political communication in social activism and collective mobilisation • Deliberation, decision-making and conflict management in social activism • Expertise, strategies and factors of successful activist campaigns • Challenges and best leadership approaches for managing social movements • The use of art, poetry and design in social activism and political mobilisation • ... 8 Emerging Trends in the Study of Social Activism • New methods and approaches to analyse protests • Activism and objectivity in normative political theory • New methods of scaling, time series and context analysis • Event data analysis, short-term political dynamics and protest cycles • New computational tools, automated and semi-automated textual analysis • Algorithm-driven research, analysis of social networks, data mining, opinion mining • ...