Lynette J. Chua. “Pragmatic Resistance, Law, and Social Movements in Authoritarian States: The Case of Gay Collective Action in Singapore.” Law & Society Review, vol. 46, no. 4 (2012): 713-748.
This article examines how legal strategies shape advocacy under authoritarian rule through a qualitative study of Singapore’s gay movement. It analyzes how activists engage in strategic adaptation, using law as both a shield and a tool in a broader strategy of pragmatic resistance. Rather than confronting the state directly, activists carefully navigate legal restrictions and cultural norms to sustain their efforts without provoking repression. In this context, law serves multiple roles. It functions as a mechanism of control by criminalizing behavior and suppressing dissent, yet it also becomes a site of limited contestation where activists seek incremental gains. Legal professionals and advocates operate within this constrained space by treating law instrumentally, prioritizing survival and tangible outcomes over ideological purity. This dynamic reveals how law can simultaneously reinforce authoritarian control and enable cautious resistance, illustrating the complex legal terrain activists and attorneys must navigate in backsliding or authoritarian systems.