Overcoming resistance to resistance in public administration: Resistance strategies of marginalized publics in citizen‐state interactions

Abstract

There has been a general resistance to resistance studies in public administration (PA) research.Although previous research has documented instances of selective policy implementation by PA practitioners that put minority groups at a comparative disadvantage, we still have a limited understanding of the different ways in which these groups contest discriminatory administrative practices especially within non-western developing countries. To address this gap, in this article, I discuss the various strategic responses the Khawaja Sira-a genderqueer group of Pakistanemploy in their interactions with the frontline police workers to contest their hyper-surveillance and moral policing. The discussion illustrates that while Khawaja Sira mostly rely on individual acts of contestation in their interactions with police officers, the emerging leadership of the Khawaja Sira is enabling emergence of new forms of resistance based on social capital and collective protests. In addition to contributing to the limited literature on citizen perspectives and LGBT issues in PA research, the theoretical framework of resistance presented here can serve as a good template to analyze citizen responses to discriminatory frontline practice in other sociopolitical contexts as well.

Dealing with disgust: Street-level bureaucrats as agents of Kafkaesque bureaucracy

“…The violence and messiness inherent in this classification project and the resultant inequities particularly for marginalized social groups have been noted by multiple researchers (Brodkin and Majmundar, 2010; Epp et al, 2014; Maynard-Moody and Musheno, 2003; Nisar, 2018a; 2018b; 2018c). This is because of the unique nature of street-level work (Lipsky, 1980): interpretation of often contradictory and voluminous administrative rules and the nature of classificatory project itself which relies on the subjective judgment of the front-line worker (p. 13).…”

“…Similarly, two individuals applying for social welfare might be classified on the deserving/undeserving axis by front-line workers based on their race or ethnicity in line with their dominant social constructions (Maynard-Moody and Musheno, 2003; Soss et al, 2011). As multiple researchers (Epp et al, 2014, 2017; Maynard-Moody & Musheno, 2012; Nisar, 2018b; 2018c) have noted, during these labeling encounters, front-line workers can also de-subjectify and de-humanize the marginalized social groups to re-assert their status as waste helping ‘separate ourselves from that which we consider filthy in order to reassure ourselves that we are not that filth’ (Morrison, 2015: 31). Repeated over time, these acts of labeling individuals marginalized along the intersection of class, race, gender, sexual preference, and religion as deviants or pollutants reinforces their classification as wasted bodies.…”

“…Changing social construction of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, transsexual, and queer (LGBTQ) community due to advocacy efforts of multiple organizations and wide-spread critique of policing in the aftermath of the Black Lives Matter movement in the United States are just of some of the examples where such strategies have been successful in bringing these categorization issues in public consciousness. Perhaps the most appropriate example for the present analysis comes from Nisar (2018b) who describes how marginalized genderqueer individuals in Pakistan use undressing in public (or a threat to do so) as a successful resistance strategy against the street-level bureaucrats. By threatening to expose what was supposed to be hidden, they not only thwart harassment and ridicule by front-line workers but in doing so also highlight how the sanitizing order of society is threatened by the social waste oozing into public space.…”

Just or Unjust? How Ideological Beliefs Shape Street‐Level Bureaucrats’ Perceptions of Administrative Burden

“…When public programs are rife with learning, compliance, and psychological costs, access to public programs, such as TANF and workforce training, significantly decreases (Cherlin et al 2002;Herd and Moynihan 2018). Moreover, the most pronounced negative effects of administrative burden occur among marginalized groups who have fewer resources to draw from when interacting with administrators (Brodkin and Majmundar 2010;Jilke, van Dooren, and Rys 2018;Nisar 2017Nisar . 2018.…”

“…Moreover, the most pronounced negative effects of administrative burden occur among marginalized groups who have fewer resources to draw from when interacting with administrators (Brodkin and Majmundar 2010; Jilke, van Dooren, and Rys 2018; Nisar 2017. 2018).…”