Dr. Boswell wins a Leverhulme Fellowship: “Weapons of the Meek: Everyday Acts of Administrative Resistance”

The fellowship will allow Dr. Boswell to conduct a new interesting ethnographic project over the course of the academic year 2021/2022. 

Despite innovation to address ailing trust in politics, democratic reformers ignore the most common way that marginalized citizens encounter the state: in the frontline implementation of laws, policies and services. We know citizens are not meek targets of state action. Ethnographic studies across health, education, planning and policing, reveal subtle forms of agency on the frontline, as citizens evade or challenge authorities. But what do these acts of resistance entail, and what are the impacts for trust in democratic institutions? I provide the first comprehensive analysis of citizen encounters across disciplines, sectors and jurisdictions to inform ideas about democratic renewal.