Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in
Book cover

Subversion in Institutional Change and Stability pp 39–61Cite as

Palgrave Macmillan

Subversive Action

  • Chapter
  • First Online:

  • 319 Accesses

Abstract

This chapter elaborates on the nature and meaning of subversive action—a micro-mechanism which is political in nature in that it secretly undermines some institutions to open up for alternative ideas, values, and interests or secures existing institutions by secretly undermining adversaries. The meaning of the concept is discussed in relation to other concepts and theories. The second section makes a literature overview of the phenomenon of subversive action and different conceptualizations of it in order to analyze similarities and differences of how it is understood and defined in this book. In contrast to previous contributions, it is argued that subversive action may very well be a fundamental mechanism in the daily life of public organizations.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution.

Chapter
USD   29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD   39.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD   54.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD   54.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Learn about institutional subscriptions

References

  • Alexander, E. R. (2001). The planner-prince: Interdependence, rationalities and post-communicative practice. Planning Theory & Practice, 2(3), 311–324.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Beilenson, L. (1972). Power through subversion. Washington, DC: Public Affairs Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bjørkelo, B., & Matthiesen, S. (2011). Preventing and dealing with retaliation against whistleblowers. In D. B. Lewis & W. Vandekerckhove (Eds.), Whistleblowing and democratic vision (pp. 127–140). London: International Whistleblowing Research Network.

    Google Scholar 

  • Blackstock, P. W. (1964). The strategy of subversion: Manipulating the politics of other nations (1st ed.). Chicago: Quadrangle Books.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dahl, R. (1957 [1969]). The concept of power. In R. Bell, D. V. Edwards, & R. Harrison Wagner (Eds.), Political power: A reader in theory and research. New York: Free Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Davis, M. (1989). Avoiding the tragedy of whistleblowing. Business and Professional Ethics Journal, 8(4), 3–19.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Devine, T. (1997). The whistleblower’s survival guide: Courage without martyrdom. Washington, DC: Fund for Constitutional Government.

    Google Scholar 

  • Falleti, T. G. (2010). Infiltrating the state: The evolution of health care reforms in Brazil, 1964–1988. In J. Mahoney & K. Thelen (Eds.), Explaining institutional change: Ambiguity, agency and power. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Farrell, D. (1983). Exit, voice, loyalty, and neglect as responses to job dissatisfaction: A multidimensional scaling study. Academy of Management Journal, 26(4), 596–607.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Flyvbjerg, B., & Richardson, T. (2002). Planning and foucault: In search of the dark side of planning theory. In P. Allmendinger & M. Tewdwr-Jones (Eds.), Planning futures: New directions for planning theory (pp. 44–62). London: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Forester, J. (1989). Planning in the face of power. Berkeley: University of California Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Foucault, M. (1980). Truth and power. In C. Gordon (Ed.), Power/knowledge: Selected interviews and other writings 1972–1977. Brighton: Harvester Press. Chapter 6.

    Google Scholar 

  • Glasson, B. (2015). Subversive rearticulation between radicalism and reform: The case of ecologism. Journal of Political Ideologies, 20(2), 156–178.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Greenwald, G. (2014). No place to hide: Edward Snowden, the NSA, and the U.S. surveillance state. New York: Metropolitan Books.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hirschman, A. O. (1970). Exit, voice, and loyalty: Responses to decline in firms, organizations, and states. Harvard: Harvard University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hosmer, S. T., & Tanham, G. K. (1986). Countering covert aggression. Santa Monica, CA: RAND Corporation. Retrieved from https://www.rand.org/pHubs/notes/N2412 [Accessed 2016-05-16].

  • Knights, D., & McCabe, D. (2000). Ain’t misbehavin? Opportunities for resistance under new forms of ‘quality’ management. Sociology, 34(3), 421–436.

    Google Scholar 

  • LaNuez, D., & Jemier, J. H. (1994). Sabotage by managers and technocrats: Neglected patterns of resistance at work. In J. M. Jermier, D. Knights, & W. R. Nord (Eds.), Resistance and power in organizations. London: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lewis, D., Brown, A. J., & Moberly, R. (2014). Whistleblowing, its importance and the state of the research. In A. J. Brown, D. Lewis, R. Moberly, & W. Vandekerckhove (Eds.), International handbook on whistleblowing research. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar.

    Google Scholar 

  • Leys, J., & Vandekerckhove, W. (2014). Whistleblowing duties. In A. J. Brown, D. Lewis, R. Moberly, & W. Vandekerckhove (Eds.), International handbook on whistleblowing research. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lowndes, V., & Roberts, M. (2013). Why institutions matter: The new institutionalism in political science. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.

    Google Scholar 

  • Loyens, K., & Maesschalck, J. (2014). Whistleblowing and power. In A. J. Brown, D. Lewis, R. Moberly, & W. Vandekerckhove (Eds.), International handbook on whistleblowing research. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lukes, S. (1974/2005). Power. A radical view (2nd ed.). Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mahoney, J., & Thelen, K. (Eds.). (2010). Explaining institutional change: Ambiguity, agency and power. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • March, J. G., & Olsen, J. P. (1989). Rediscovering institutions. New York: Free Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • March, J. G., & Olsen, J. P. (1995). Democratic governance. New York: Free Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Miceli, M. P., Dreyfus, S., & Near, J. P. (2014). Outsider ‘whistleblowers’: Conceptualizing and distinguishing ‘bell-ringing’ behavior. In A. J. Brown, D. Lewis, R. Moberly, & W. Vandekerckhove (Eds.), International handbook on whistleblowing research. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar.

    Google Scholar 

  • Miceli, M. P., Near, J. P., & Dworkin, T. M. (2008). Whistle-blowing in organizations. New York: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • MSPB (Merit Systems Protection Board). (2011). Blowing in the whistle: Barriers to federal employees making disclosures: A report to the president and the Congress of the United States by the US Merit Systems Protection Board. Washington, DC: US Government Printing Office.

    Google Scholar 

  • Near, J. P., & Miceli, M. P. (1985). Organizational dissidence: The case whistle-blowing. Journal of Business Ethics, 4(1), 1–16.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Needleman, M. L., & Needleman, C. E. (1974). Guerrillas in the bureaucracy: The community planning experiment in the United States. New York: John Wiley.

    Google Scholar 

  • O’Leary, R. (2010). Guerrilla employees: Should managers nurture, tolerate, or terminate them? Public Administration Review, 70(1), 8–19.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • O’Leary, R. (2014). The ethics of dissent: Managing guerrilla government (2nd ed.). Los Angeles: Sage.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Olsen, J. (2014). Reporting versus inaction: How much is there, what explains the differences and what to measure. In A. J. Brown, D. Lewis, R. Moberly, & W. Vandekerckhove (Eds.), International handbook on whistleblowing research. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar.

    Google Scholar 

  • Olsson, J., & Hysing, E. (2012). Theorizing inside activism: Understanding policymaking and policy change from below. Planning Theory & Practice, 13(2), 257–273.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rajão, R., Azevedo, A., & Stabile, M. C. (2012). Institutional subversion and deforestation: Learning lessons from the system for the environmental licensing of rural properties in Mato Grosso. Public Administration and Development, 32, 229–244.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rao, H., & Giorgi, S. (2006). Code breaking: How entrepreneurs exploit cultural logics to generate institutional change. Research in Organizational Behavior, 27, 279–314.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rosenau, W. (2007). Subversion and insurgency: RAND counterinsurgency study, paper 2. Santa Monica, CA: RAND Corporation. Retrieved from https://www.rand.org/pubs/occasional_papers/OP172 [Accessed 2016-05-16].

  • Rothstein, B. (Ed.). (2015). Political corruption. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rusbult, C. E., Farrell, D., & Rogers, G. (1988). Impact of exchange variables on exit, voice, loyalty, and neglect: An integrative model of responses to declining job satisfaction. The Academy of Management Journal, 31(3), 599–627.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Skivenes, M., & Trygstad, S. C. (2014). Wrongdoing: Definitions, identification and categorizations. In A. J. Brown, D. Lewis, R. Moberly, & W. Vandekerckhove (Eds.), International handbook on whistleblowing research. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar.

    Google Scholar 

  • Søreide, T., & Williams, A. (Eds.). (2014). Corruption, grabbing and development. Real world challenges. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar.

    Google Scholar 

  • Spjut, R. J. (1979). Defining subversion. British Journal of Law and Society, 6(2), 254–261.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Streek, W., & Thelen, K. (2005). Introduction: Institutional change in advanced political economies. In W. Streek & K. Thelen (Eds.), Beyond continuity. Institutional change in advanced political economies. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Teo, H. D., & Caspersz, D. (2011). Dissenting discourse: Exploring alternatives to the whistleblowing/silence dichotomy. Journal of Business Ethics, 104(2), 237–249.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • The US Department of Defense Dictionary of Military and Associated Terms. Joint Publication 1-02. 15 November 2015.

    Google Scholar 

  • Thomas, R., & Davies, A. (2015). Theorizing the micro-politics of resistance: New public management and managerial identities in the UK public services. Organization Studies, 26(5), 683–706.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Uys, T. (2000). The politicisation of whistleblowers. A case study. Business Ethics: A European Review, 9(4), 259–267.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Örebro University, Örebro, Sweden

    Jan Olsson

Authors
  1. Jan Olsson
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Copyright information

© 2016 The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s)

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

Olsson, J. (2016). Subversive Action. In: Subversion in Institutional Change and Stability . Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-349-94922-9_3

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation