Building a culture of resistance
Securitising and de-securitising Eastleigh during the Kenyan government's Operation Usalama Watch
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 2182610 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Tomáš František Žák (Oxford Centre for Mission Studies, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2020 |
| Volume | 14 |
| Issue | 4 |
| Pages | 743-762 |
| Publication date | 2020-10-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Journal of Eastern African Studies (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 1753-1055 • E-ISSN: 1753-1063 |
| Publisher | Informa UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1080/17531055.2020.1831848 |
| OpenAlex | W3097410472 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 3 |
| References cited | 30 |
This paper focuses on Operation Usalama Watch, a counter-terrorism crackdown that was conducted in Eastleigh, the predominately Kenyan-Somali neighbourhood of Nairobi, in April 2014. Using the response to the operation as a case study, it seeks to build on criticisms of the Copenhagen School by arguing that the notion of the 'speech act' is limiting when considering alternative media through which subtle forms of dissent are channelled and counter-narratives are expressed. Moreover, it argues that conventional securitisation theory has predominately focused on discursive attempts to construct rather than deconstruct security threats. By drawing together, criticisms of securitisation theory, the scholarship on subaltern studies and the literature on youth politics in Africa, the political agency and forms of resistance used by young people that do not resort to overt contestation through speech become apparent. This paper argues that during the operation, young people in Eastleigh used novel and often informal mediums to speak back to power, challenge convention and ultimately contribute to a process of de-securitisation by creating a culture of resistance
Dissent · Kenya · Media studies · Political science · Politics · Power (physics · Resistance (ecology · Scholarship · Sociology · Somali · Subaltern · Terrorism · Gender Studies · Global Security and Public Health · Law · Peacebuilding and International Security · Viral Infections and Outbreaks Research
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Domination and the Arts of Resistance
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The Time of Youth
Securitization theory and securitization studies
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The Copenhagen School on Tour in Kyrgyzstan
Securitization and Minority Rights
The Little Mermaid's Silent Security Dilemma and the Absence of Gender in the Copenhagen School
Performative States
Beyond Heroes and Villains
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Words, Images, Enemies
Rendering difference visible
African studies and the postcolonial challenge
Kenya at war
Kenya, the United States, and Counterterrorism
The Politics of Twitter
Agency in tight corners
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| Unique citing works | 3 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 1 |
| Citation span | 2023 - 2026 (4) |
| Citation velocity | current |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 3 |