Resistance and Revolution in the Age of Authoritarian Revanchism: The Power of Revolutionary Imaginaries in the Austerity-Security State Era
| Date | 01 June 2019 |
| Published date | 01 June 2019 |
| Author | Eric Selbin |
| DOI | 10.1177/0305829819838321 |
| Subject Matter | Reflections |
https://doi.org/10.1177/0305829819838321
Millennium: Journal of
International Studies
2019, Vol. 47(3) 483 –496
© The Author(s) 2019
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DOI: 10.1177/0305829819838321
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Resistance and Revolution
in the Age of Authoritarian
Revanchism: The Power of
Revolutionary Imaginaries in
the Austerity-Security State Era
Eric Selbin
Southwestern University, USA
Abstract
We live in an age of authoritarian revanchism, an era of Austerity-Security States often voted in
by a set of fears stoked by elites that economies require patriarchal, conserving policies. Hence
the end of state welfare functions, destruction of stable employment and unclear job futures
create profound economic fear even as the destruction of communal bonds such as identities,
social protections and sense of place have produced deep social dread. Resistance, rebellion and
revolution remain ready and apt responses for people all around the world. Recent academic
interest in ‘imaginaries’ – social, cultural, technological, psychological and more – reflect a
renewed appreciation for human agency, collective action, ideology, cultural matters and the
‘narrative turn’. Rich revolutionary imaginaries, often daring acts of bricolage, provide people
with the means and methods to struggle for control of the material and ideological conditions
of their everyday lives even in the face of forces inimical to their interests. What could be more
meaningful than changing the small worlds that are our everyday worlds and hence matter most
for most of us most of the time? Where, when, and who will bring revolution into the 21st
Century? A broader, deeper definition will help to ascertain, explore and explicate.
Keywords
revolution, resistance, imaginaries
Resistencia y revolución en la época del revanchismo autoritario: el poder
de los imaginarios revolucionarios en la era de la austeridad-seguridad
Resumen
Vivimos en unos tiempos de revanchismo autoritario, de Estados Austeridad-Seguridad
a menudo votados en base a los miedos con los que las élites venden que las economías
Corresponding author:
Eric Selbin, Department of Political Science, Southwestern University, 1001 E. University Ave. Georgetown,
TX 78626, USA.
Email: eselbin@southwestern.edu
838321MIL0010.1177/0305829819838321Millennium – Journal of International StudiesSelbin
research-article2019
Reflections
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