Deploying Weapons of the Weak in Civil Society: Political Culture in Hong Kong and Taiwan

To consider how civil-political discourse manifests under deeply divided circumstances owing to a legacy of power differentials, how histories of colonialism & resistance provide contour to the political-cultural repertoire of a recently democratized society is explored, using the cases of Hong...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Social justice (San Francisco, Calif.) Calif.), 2006-01, Vol.33 (2 (104)), p.77-104
Main Authors: Lo, Ming-cheng M., Bettinger, Christopher P., Fan, Yun
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Cartoons
Citizen participation
Civics
Civil Society
Colonialism
Consciousness
Cultural Groups
Democracy
Discourse
East Asian culture
Elections
Habermas, Jurgen
Hong Kong
Humor
Legacies
Political aspects
Political cartoons
Political Culture
Political History
Politics
Social change
Social criticism & satire
Social justice
Taiwan
Weapons
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Summary:To consider how civil-political discourse manifests under deeply divided circumstances owing to a legacy of power differentials, how histories of colonialism & resistance provide contour to the political-cultural repertoire of a recently democratized society is explored, using the cases of Hong Kong & Taiwan amid their first democratic elections. A review of the literature on civil society demonstrates the importance of this issue & the inadequacies in addressing this it. It is argued that a better understanding can be had by looking at how certain groups' cultural legacy, which has sprung forth amid oppression, changes in the civic moment & informs their new civil speech. Political cartoons are drawn on, & the theoretical basis for the discussion turns on W. E. B. DuBois's notions of double consciousness & veils in support of James Scott's (1985) description of "weapons of the weak"; Scott's thinking on the tavern is juxtaposed against Jurgen Habermas's idea of the cafe. References. D. Edelman
ISSN:1043-1578
2327-641X