Resistance and Opposition Beyond Institutions: Strategies and Alliances of Parliamentary and non-Parliamentary Opposition Actors in Post-Communist Europe
International Workshop|Call for Papers
Political opposition is a core part of the political landscape in both democracies and modern competitive authoritarian regimes. However, the more a regime moves towards authoritarianism, the more opposition is forced to act outside of legislative institutions (Ilonszki and Dudzińska 2021). This means, on the one hand, that opposition parties resort to extra-institutional means (e.g. parliamentary and electoral boycotts, street protests, etc.) as their institutional opportunities decrease. Simultaneously, new non-parliamentary actors such as media, critical NGOs, social movement organizations, civil groups and individuals such as protest participants and dissidents become crucial forces in countering governments and their policies (Helms 2021).
The blurred line between institutional and non-institutional politics in terms of multiple venues for oppositional activities (elections, legislatures, courts, the street, supranational level) as well as the different types of actors (institutional and extra-institutional/ parliamentary and non-parliamentary) involved has moved to the center of attention for scholars studying opposition in different political regimes (e.g. Brack and Weinblum 2011, Bedford and Vinatier 2019; Tertytchnaya 2020; Crăciun and Rammelt 2025). While our empirical knowledge on that matter is growing, we still lack systematic analysis that enables us to theorize opposition activities out- and inside institutions, and to assess successful and unsuccessful cooperation attempts between non-parliamentary and parliamentary opposition.
How can the power from the streets be moved to the parliament? This workshop seeks to further unpack the institutional versus extra-institutional dichotomy and explore possible interlinkages of oppositions in post-communist Europe. It aims to explore the strategies, actors, resources, and cooperation of and between parliamentary and non-parliamentary opposition in post-communist democracies and authoritarianisms. We therefore apply a broad understanding of political opposition which is not limited to the realm of the parliament but extends to any organized actor or action that aims to oppose the government, government policies, or the political system (Brack and Weinblum 2011:74).
The papers may include but are not limited to the following questions:
- What theoretical frameworks best explain the conditions under which opposition actors successfully transition from extra-institutional resistance to institutional political opposition?
- How do the concepts of ‘resistance’ and ‘opposition’ relate to each other? Are there variations across different political systems?
- How do different regime types (democratic, authoritarian) shape the strategies and effectiveness of opposition cooperation across institutional and extra-institutional domains?
- Which alliances between parliamentary and extra-parliamentary opposition are sustainable and how can we conceptualize them? What factors have influenced their success or failure?
- How do parliamentary and extra-parliamentary opposition actors coordinate their efforts during campaigns of resistance against authoritarian progression?
- What motivates non-parliamentary opposition to seek allies in institutional politics and vice versa? Which are the interdependencies between the two?
- Under what conditions do opposition actors choose to bypass institutional leverage and instead adopt extra-institutional, disruptive strategies?
- What are the correlations between increased street protests and growing/decreasing support for opposition parties?
- What happens to social movements when they enter institutional politics through elections?
- What impact do protest movements have on party systems?
The workshop aims to bring together scholars working on single case or comparative studies looking at forms, strategies and resources of non-parliamentary opposition and its potential cooperation with parliamentary opposition. We aim to discuss and provide conceptual and terminological clarity about opposition actors in different political settings, their activities and especially their roles within the respective political systems. We are interested in contributions focusing on democracies and authoritarianisms of post-communist Europe (including South Caucasus and Russia). The workshop aims to produce a proposal for a special issue in a high-impact journal.
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