How do we study resistance without losing sight of the historical and political conditions that shape it? This question has accompanied much of my research on Palestinian resistance and remains central to my reflections on the possibilities and limitations of knowledge production in social and political psychology.
In political psychology, we often study resistance through measurable attitudes, emotions, motivations, and preferences for collective action. These approaches have contributed important insights. Yet they also invite us to reflect on what may remain outside our analytical frameworks: the historical conditions in which resistance emerges, the unequal relations of power that shape its possibilities, and the political struggles over its meaning.
During my seminar at the IAS, the questions and feedback also drew my attention to another challenge: gaps in understanding the everyday realities of Palestinian life and the multiple, interconnected structures of colonial violence. This reinforced the importance of contextual knowledge, not simply as background information, but as something fundamental to the questions we ask, the concepts we employ, and the interpretations we develop.
Conversations with Maja Kutlaca, Elizabeth Kahn, Winnifred Louis, and Jana Bacevic, alongside the interdisciplinary workshop, helped extend these reflections. Our exchanges opened up possibilities for thinking across theoretical perspectives and considering methodological approaches that might better address the challenges of studying resistance within historically constituted relations of power.
What I value about the Reconceptualising Resistance project is the opportunity it creates for scholars from different disciplines to engage with shared questions while bringing distinct theoretical and methodological perspectives. Such exchanges do not necessarily resolve theoretical disagreements or methodological challenges, but they can help us recognize the limits of our own approaches and explore possibilities for thinking and researching differently.
Dr Mai Albzour Birzeit University
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