1.3 Radical resistance leadership
Sometimes it is not the case that resisters want to fix an organisation or system, but rather to abolish them entirely. Under such circumstances, the aim is not to reform but to dismantle. Such resistance emerges when organisations betray the trust of those they are supposed to serve, often repeatedly.
Historically, abolition has been a word associated primarily with the slave trade, but in more recent times with aspects of the criminal justice system. For example, the official review by Baroness Casey of the Metropolitan Police in 2023 found ‘institutional racism, sexism and homophobia’ in the force (Casey, 2023, p. 7). The peer’s report stated that if ‘sufficient progress’ was not made on key points that ‘more radical, structural options, such as dividing up the Met into national, specialist and London responsibilities, should be considered to ensure the service to Londoners is prioritised’ (ibid, p. 25). In other words, the Baroness was recommending dissolving, dividing and re-forming the entire organisation. Such sentiments echoed points made by numerous experts and campaigners (Barradale, 2023).
Resistance that seeks radical forms of change, even to the point of abolition, is referred to as ‘dissensual leadership’ (Barthold et al., 2022). This kind of leadership is confrontational and driven by direct forms of action and conflict. People may use their bodies to occupy space or use force to obtain their goals. Campaigners do not often move directly to dissensual leadership but arrive there after having exhausted other options. One example of such dissensual leadership is the toppling and disposal of the statue of slave trader Edward Colson by protesters in Bristol in 2020. Campaigners had spent decades trying to have the statue removed through official channels, without success. Physically removing it and dumping it in the river proved successful, if confrontational, controversial and risky for those who took the direct action – they were criminally prosecuted. Dissensual leadership has proven to be a hot topic in the UK, particularly in relation to forms of direct action taken by environmental protesters, such as stopping traffic or attaching themselves to buildings.
Ultimately, dissensual leadership, while being a form of radical resistance, is also an exercise of power. Collectives of people seek to assert an alternative form of power, often bypassing and choosing to ignore the legitimacy of existing organisations and institutions. Having considered the role of resistance in driving leadership, you will now move on to consider some of the challenges that arise when resistance is so successful that resisters gain real power.