Rightful Resistance: A Discursive Third Realm?

Öz

This article aims to bring a new angle to the literature by joining ‘rightful resistance’ of O’Brien and ‘third realm’ of Huang. It questions whether rightful resistance is a third realm or not. The main thesis is that rightful resistance is a discursive third realm. This thesis is expounded in five parts. After the introduction of ‘rightful resistance’ in the first part; in the second part, civil society and public sphere as first alternatives coming to mind are examined in terms of applicability and conceptualization. It is argued that such applications and conceptualizations have some difficulties preventing the accurate grasp of the reality because of the historical baggage and ambivalent definitions of the concepts. In the third part, Huang’s concept of ‘third realm’ is delineated. In the fourth part, it is explained how rightful resistance constructs a third realm. It is claimed that this is a discursive third realm since the construction is realised through the discourse. Besides, feasibility of rightful resistance’s operationalization is discussed. Fragmented authoritarianism is suggested to make an efficient third realm for resisters possible. In the last part, these arguments are demonstrated through the Wukan Incident. In the conclusion, some potential criticisms are handled.

Anahtar Kelimeler

• Rightful Resistance,O’Brien,Third Realm,Huang,China,Wukan Incident

Meşru Direniş: Söylemsel Bir Üçüncü Alan?

Öz

Bu çalışma, O’Brien’in Çin’deki bazı toplumsal hareketleri anlamak için ürettiği “meşru direniş” kavramıyla, Huang’ın yine Çin’deki kamusal alan tartışmalarında yeni bir yaklaşım olarak ortaya çıkardığı “üçüncü alan” kavramlarını beraber okuyarak literatüre yeni bir bakış açısı getirmeyi amaçlamaktadır. Bu bağlamda makale, meşru direnişin bir üçüncü alan olup olmadığını sorgulamaktadır. Makalenin temel tezi, meşru direnişin söylemsel bir üçüncü alan olduğudur. Bu argüman, makalede beş bölümde ele alınmaktadır. Girişten sonraki ilk bölümde “meşru direniş” kavramı sunulmaktadır. İkinci bölümde sivil toplum ve kamusal alan -akla ilk gelen alternatifler olarak- uygulanabilirlikleri ve kavramsallaştırmaları açısından tartışılmaktadır. Bu bölümdeki temel iddia bu tarz kavramsallaştırmaların ve uygulanmaların tarihi mirasları ve net olmayan tanımlarından dolayı gerçeği anlamayı zorlaştıracaklarıdır. Üçüncü bölümde, Huang’ın “üçüncü alan” kavramı ele alınmaktadır. Dördüncü bölümdeyse meşru direnişin üçüncü alanı nasıl inşa ettiği izah edilmektedir. Bu inşa söylem yoluyla gerçekleştirildiği için meşru direnişin söylemsel bir üçüncü alan yarattığı iddia edilmektedir. Bunlara ek olarak, meşru direnişin işlevselliğinin mümkünatı da tartışılmaktadır. Bu bağlamda, Çin’deki bölünmüş otoriterliğin direnişçiler için işlevsel bir üçüncü alanı mümkün kıldığı iddia edilmiştir. Son bölümde de bu argümanlar Wukan Vakasıyla örneklendirilmiştir. Makalenin sonuç kısmındaysa bazı muhtemel eleştiriler ele alınmıştır.

Anahtar Kelimeler

• Meşru Direniş,O’Brien,Üçüncü Alan,Huang,Çin,Wukan Vakası

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