Resisto, ergo sum! Anmerkungen zur Begriffsgeschichte von "Widerstand"

Based on a conceptual history approach and an analysis of some classic texts of political thought, this article investigates the shifts in the meaning of the political concept of „resistance“. It shows that this concept has undergone major changes throughout its history. Firstly, it was transformed during the „Sattelzeit“ (1750-1850). Originally a „reactionary“ term, it became a broader more „progressive“ concept which could be used more easily as an instrument of political mobilization and ideological contestation. It also started to refl ect the modern concept of time as processing history. Secondly, in the subsequent period (since 1850), the concept of „resistance“ became romanticised, individualised, culturalised and subjectivised. As a result, it became a diffused concept. Finally, the closing section of the paper examines contemporary tendencies toward the depoliticization and aestheticization of „resistance“