As welfare systems grow more complex and intrusive, some citizens push back. This seminar explores how everyday people resist administrative burdens—and the personal and political costs of doing so.

In recent decades, welfare states in the Global North have become increasingly characterized by administrative burdens—complex procedures, conditionality, and surveillance—that make access to social security more difficult and demeaning. While much attention has focused on the oppressive nature of these systems, a growing body of ethnographic research reveals how ordinary people resist.

In this seminar, Professor John Boswell (University of Southampton) draws on James Scott’s concept of the weapons of the weak to explore how individuals navigate and challenge bureaucratic obstacles. Through a meta-ethnography of welfare encounters, he identifies recurring strategies of resistance—weapons of the meek—and reflects on their consequences. While such acts may offer temporary relief or reclaim dignity, they can also erode social solidarity and provoke further scrutiny from authorities.

The seminar is organized by Förvaltningsakademin and invites scholars, practitioners, and students interested in public administration, social policy, and democratic governance to join the discussion.