James
C. Scott provides a perspective on hegemony and ‘invisible
power’ that has been both influential and controversial. In his
influential book Weapons
of the weak: everyday forms of resistance (1985)
Scott introduces the idea that oppression and resistance are in
constant flux, and that by focusing (as political scientists often
do) on visible historic ‘events’ such as organised rebellions or
collective action we can easily miss subtle but powerful forms of
‘every day resistance’. Scott looks at peasant and slave
societies and their ways of responding to domination, with a focus
not on observable acts of rebellion but on forms of cultural
resistance and non-cooperation that are employed over time through
the course of persistent servitude.
Scott’s
research finds that overt peasant rebellions are actually rather
uncommon, do not occur when and where expected, and often don’t
have much impact. Rather than seeing ‘resistance as
organisation’, Scott looks at less visible, every-day forms of
resistance such as ‘foot-dragging, evasion, false compliance,
pilfering, feigned ignorance, slander and sabotage’. He finds
these in rural and factory settings, and also among the middle class
and elites (e.g. through tax evasion or conscription), but
particularly among rural people who are physically dispersed and less
politically organised than urban populations (Scott 1985).
Closely linked to the idea of resistance is Scott’s notion of ‘transcripts’ (hidden and public) which are established ways of behaving and speaking that fit particular actors in particular social settings, whether dominant or oppressed. Resistance is a subtle form of contesting ‘public transcripts’ by making use of prescribed roles and language to resist the abuse of power – including things like ‘rumour, gossip, disguises, linguistic tricks, metaphors, euphemisms, folktales, ritual gestures, anonymity’ (page 137). These methods are particularly effective in situations where violence is used to maintain the status quo, allowing ‘a veiled discourse of dignity and self-assertion within the public transcript… in which ideological resistance is disguised, muted and veiled for safety’s sake’ (page 137). These forms of resistance require little coordination or planning, and are used by both individuals and groups to resist without directly confronting or challenging elite norms.
Importantly,
with his idea of ‘transcripts’ Scott recognises that the dominant
as well as the weak are often caught within the same web of
socialised roles and behaviour (Scott 1992) often expressed without
any explicit or conscious intent. In this sense Scott has a
cultural/psychological view of hegemony as subconscious and
internalised (through transcripts) rather than as wilful, coordinated
acts of domination. But with ‘resistance’ he sees power as lying
somewhere between structure and agency:
‘Most
of the political life of subordinate groups is to be found neither in
the overt collective defiance of powerholders nor in complete
hegemonic compliance, but in the vast territory between these two
polar opposites’ (Scott 1985: 136).
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