Opportunistic obedient resistance: “Taking the state at its word” in resisting state-led inner-city redevelopment in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

Abstract

There is an emerging body of literature documenting subversive strategies of urban disadvantaged groups in response to urban exclusion, but it is limited in capturing urban resistance through authorised channels. Between 2009 and 2017, some Addis Ababa inner-city slum residents, when faced with redevelopment-induced displacement to remote and underdeveloped parts of the city, demanded their right to stay put in the central and well-serviced part of the city through authorised channels appealing to senior officials to avoid state repression of outright resistance. They framed their claims by referring to state officials' promises and appealing to the developmental commitment of the state, pitting lower-level state officials against higher-level state officials, and actively seeking media attention. This article compares their strategy with two concepts developed elsewhere that capture claim-making “within the official discourse of deference.” This article advances the concept of “opportunistic obedient resistance” to capture the strategy of Addis Ababa inner-city residents in minimising the political repercussions of resisting state-led redevelopment interventions and tact in gaining support for their claim from senior state officials. Opportunistic obedient resistance is conceptually located in-between and overlapping the “rightful resistance” and “consentful contention” and co-existing with other subversive and authorised contention. The concept could be employed to comparatively analyse similar urban-based resistance that transpires without challenging the status quo in developmentally-committed authoritarian states and beyond.