Theorizing Resistance Movements

With the recent strengthening of populist authoritarianism around the world, a new global wave of resistance has taken shape. These new ‘resistance movements’ appear as one of several major instances of resistance in world history, each with their own sets of movements. These include the anti-colonial resistance movements of early 20th Century, the anti-Fascist resistance movements of the mid-20^th century, and the anti-Soviet resistance movements of the later 20^th century. This article moves to build the basis for the further study of resistance movements, theorizing them as ‘movements which orient themselves around the refusal and subversion of an imposed sociopolitical order,’ drawing together knowledge from these four world-historical instances of resistance movements. Resistance movements are highly distinct from social movements, not only in their mission, but also in their underlying dynamics. In particular, the article identifies three key attributes which characterize resistance movements across history yet are exceptionally rare among conventional social movements.