Call for Papers - University at Albany Projects of Duress

We are seeking contributors for a journal special issue on how activists adapt to democratic backsliding in Asia. We will develop draft papers at a workshop in Québec City in October 2024 (contingent on funding; otherwise in hybrid format).

In recent years, the world has become less democratic. This trend is evident through significant shifts, including a reduction in the number and quality of democracies, such that even individuals living within democratic systems face new constraints on the breadth of democratic freedoms they enjoy. This regression follows the “third wave” of democratic expansion, which started in the 1970s and gained steam, especially after the dissolution of the Soviet Union in the 1980s and 1990s. During this era, robust civil societies emerged, nurturing movements advocating for causes such as gender equality, economic redistribution, environmental conservation, minority rights, and governmental transparency. Activist groups within civil society now bear the brunt of the consequences of the retreat of democracy. Protest persists in many sites, but often via innovative modes or platforms, among narrowed subsets of citizens, with different targets, or drawing on new alliances—even as states continue to hone new strategies for surveillance and repression.

We aim collaboratively to explore how activists protest under duress as democratic protections weaken, with special attention to Asia as a key site of both rights-oriented mobilization and democratic erosion. We will do so through a workshop and a journal special issue delving into a set of key questions that animate our inquiry:

How do Asian activists adapt their strategies and tactics amid declining democratic environments?

How do they interpret the evolving situation to push back against constraints effectively?

What risk-evaluation processes do activists undertake before planning or engaging in protest activities?

In the face of democratic erosion, what innovative tactics and organizational alliances do activists employ to sustain their movements and shift the focus and/or locus of their actions?

How do they navigate emerging risks while effectively using what spaces and resources are available?

How do activists negotiate diminishing or dispersed ranks, as some are imprisoned, dissuaded from further engagement, or pushed into exile?

Papers may address one or more of these questions, in one or more country in East or Southeast Asia. All should contribute to theoretical innovation by examining the evolution of one or several specific groups as they adapt to changing conditions for activism over time. All articles, too, should draw on original research and analysis not published elsewhere.

Applications are due by 5 February 2024. We expect to announce our decisions by 1 March 2024 and will require draft papers (4-6,000 words) by 1 October 2024 (about two weeks prior to the workshop). We expect all participants to have read the full set of these brief drafts and to come to the workshop prepared to discuss them.

To apply, click here.