 Resisting resettlement in Rwanda: rethinking dichotomies of “survival”/“resistance” and “dominance”/“subordination”Gumira Joseph Hahirwa, Camilla Orjuela and Stellan Vinthagen Journal of Eastern African Studies, 2017, vol. 11, issue 4, 734-750 Abstract: This article problematizes the dichotomies between “survival” and “resistance,” and between “dominance” and “subordination.” Based on fieldwork in Rwanda among peasants who experienced the country’s large-scale villagization program, the article shows how some poor farmers – motivated by survival needs – negotiate the reform pressures in a way that amounts to “everyday resistance,” while the local reform implementers – as a result of their “in-between position” as leaders and members of the local communities – navigate between resistance and dominance in ambivalent ways. In this way, our empirical data contribute to the field of resistance studies, particularly to explorations of “everyday resistance,” by (1) questioning the conventional focus on the political consciousness (or “class antagonism”) of subalterns, as well as (2) destabilizing the binary class model of dominant superiors and resisting subalterns. Date: 2017 Downloads: (external link) Related works: Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:taf:rjeaxx:v:11:y:2017:i:4:p:734-750 Ordering information: This journal article can be ordered from DOI: 10.1080/17531055.2017.1388569 Access Statistics for this article Journal of Eastern African Studies is currently edited by Jim Robert Brennan More articles in Journal of Eastern African Studies from Taylor & Francis Journals |
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