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Book Cover
E-book
Author Čhančhirā Sombatphūnsiri.

Title Humor and nonviolent struggle in Serbia / Janjira Sombatpoonsiri
Edition First edition
Published Syracuse, New York : Syracuse University Press, 2015

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Description 1 online resource
Series Syracuse studies on peace and conflict resolution
Syracuse studies on peace and conflict resolution.
Contents Part One. A history of the Serbian sense of humor -- Laughing at the misery : Serbian comedic culture -- Coming to the fore : humorous protest actions in Serbia in the early 1990s -- Coming of age : carnivalesque protests -- Part Two. Otpor and its subversive humor -- Fighting Milošević with Otpor's clenched fist : the campaigns -- Strategic humor : satirical street theater, parodic protest actions, and carnivalesque events -- Localizing strategic humor : how Milošević was mocked across Serbia -- Conclusion -- Epilogue: Otpor's legacy -- Appendix A: Research methodology and data collection -- Appendix B: Chronology of nonviolent struggle in Serbia in the 1990s
Summary "'If I had no sense of humor, I should long ago have committed suicide, ' wrote the late Mahatma Gandhi, expressing the potent power of humor to sustain and uplift. Less obvious is humor's ability to operate as a cunning weapon in nonviolent protest movements. Over the last few decades, activists are increasingly incorporating subversive laughter in their protest repertoires, realizing the ways in which it challenges the ruling elite's propaganda, defuses antagonism, and inspires both participants and the greater population. In this highly original and engaging work, Sombatpoonsiri explores the nexus between humor and nonviolent protest, aiming to enhance our understanding of the growing popularity of humor in protest movements around the world. Drawing on insights from the pioneering Otpor activists in Serbia, she provides a detailed account of the protesters' systematic use of humor to topple Slobadan Milošević in 2000. Interviews with activists, protest newsletters, and documentaries of the movement combine to illustrate how humor played a pivotal role by reflecting the absurdity of the regime's propaganda and, in turn, by delegitimizing its authority. Sombatpoonsiri highlights the Otpor activists' ability to internationalize their nonviolent crusade, influencing youth movements in the Ukraine, Georgia, Iran, and Egypt. Globally, Otpor's successful use of humor became an inspiration for a later generation of protest movements"--Publisher's website
Bibliography Includes bibliographical references and index
Notes English
Print version record
Subject Milošević, Slobodan, 1941-2006.
SUBJECT Milošević, Slobodan, 1941-2006 fast
Subject Otpor (Organization : Serbia) -- History
SUBJECT Otpor (Organization : Serbia) fast
Subject Protest movements -- Serbia -- History
Student movements -- Serbia -- History
Wit and humor -- Political aspects -- Serbia -- History
Nonviolence -- Political aspects -- Serbia -- History
Political activists -- Serbia -- History
Government, Resistance to -- Serbia -- History
HISTORY -- Europe -- General.
SOCIAL SCIENCE -- Anthropology -- Cultural.
Government, Resistance to
Political activists
Politics and government
Protest movements
Student movements
SUBJECT Serbia -- Politics and government -- 1992-2006. http://id.loc.gov/authorities/subjects/sh2001007009
Subject Serbia
Genre/Form History
Form Electronic book
ISBN 9780815653400
0815653409