Infrapolitics, Race and Everyday Resistance

Abstract

Resistance is often understood as overt opposition; however this chapter introduces the concept of everyday resistance or infrapolitics to describe subtle, concealed political practices that operate beneath formal political structures, particularly in contexts where open resistance is dangerous. This chapter situates race and the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement within broader historical and structural conditions that shape racial inequality. BLM draws attention to the disproportionate exposure of Black communities to state violence.

The chapter explores the argument that the political histories of oppressed groups can only be fully understood by recognising these everyday acts of resistance, which slowly but meaningfully transform power relations. Building on this perspective, Achille Mbembe contends that race and Blackness have been produced through slavery, colonialism and capitalism, resulting in the systematic disposability of Black populations. The chapter explores how whiteness operates as a marker of normative humanity and examines how whiteness continues to function as a dominant institutional position, reinforced by racial neoliberalism that normalises and sustains white privilege. This chapter also addresses the evolving forms of racism that have emerged in the post-9/11 era, particularly through the racialised representation of asylum seekers, which fuels fear and exclusion. Collectively, these perspectives underscore the ongoing struggle for justice and the central role of everyday resistance in challenging entrenched systems of racial power.