History and Politics of the “Losers”: James C. Scott’s Perspective on Domination, Power, and Resistance

Authors

  • Khorapin Phuaphansawat College of Politics and Governance, Mahasarakham University

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.61462/cujss.v48i2.748

Keywords:

James C. Scott, resistance, weapons of the weak, hidden transcripts, the state

Abstract

This paper examines James C. Scott’s five seminal works of the past three decades to arrive at his political perspective. It argues that he focussed on the “losers” in the political arena, namely, the unorganized subordinate masses and the stateless “barbarians”. These people were seen not as dominated ideologically, succumbing to power, nor as out-of-date and uncivilized. Scott saw them rather as political actors who on a daily basis bargained, resisted and refused to surrender to the power-that-be. Their arts of resistance ranged from vandalism, petty theft, rumor mongering, deliberate engagement in an oral culture to slash-and burn agricultural practices. Scott’s works would be categorized as localist, particularist and multiculturalist. Yet, they prompt us to reconceptualize the political thoughts of prominent political thinkers and political scientists such as Rousseau, Charles Tilly, and Slavoj Zizek. The works also engage with contemporary political science debates, such as on ideological domination, the state, anarchy, social movements and revolution.

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References

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Published

15-09-2022

How to Cite

Phuaphansawat, Khorapin. 2022. “History and Politics of the ‘Losers’: James C. Scott’s Perspective on Domination, Power, and Resistance”. Chulalongkorn University Journal of Social Sciences 48 (2). Bangkok, Thailand:83-110. https://doi.org/10.61462/cujss.v48i2.748.

Issue

Vol. 48 No. 2 (2018): July - December

Section

Research Articles

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