Thursday, January 17, 2008

I really like reframing things....really I do.

So I am constantly reframing and rethinking about my prospectus and research project. Here is how I have it now. This is probably more useful to read then my long sections that I posted earlier. I need to rewrite and edit those. How does this question look? Is it still confusing?

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Diss Q: What does the tension between anarchist movements and state agencies demonstrate about the relationship between the state and social movements more generally?

The relationship between social movements and governmental institutions is always one of regulation and control. This relationship is hidden when social scientist use pressure groups or any policy driven movement because these groups have already agreed to accept the confines that the state places on them. They accept these confines in an attempt to have access, or at least greater access, to agenda setters and the policy cycle. With some anarchist groups there is no agreement to accept the state's limitations on action. This is seen through the banner group Food Not Bombs, an anarchist group that distributes food without seeking permits or enacting a 501©3 non-profit status, as well as squatter communities, and the radical forest defense movement. These movements all attempt to have a political life outside the regulated and confining space that the state grants. In response to anarchist group's, government institutions attempt to maintain regulatory power over public space by recapturing the political spaces that anarchist movements have liberated and placing this groups within the regulatory space of the state. This can be done by attempts to integrate anarchist groups within traditional venues, by forcing them to accept permits or non-profit status, or by bringing the groups within the panoptical vision of the state through infiltration and surveillance.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Love it - so much clearer!

I think that Foucault (and Bentham for that matter) just peed in his grave.