The Disciplinary Power of Law and Strategies of Resistance

People Living in Housing Poverty and the Law

In cases when a person living in municipal or state housing and facing the threat of eviction due to housing poverty, they find themselves in a power asymmetry relation where the other party is way stronger in every aspect, and the stakes are no less than one of the most fundamental existential needs; the housing. In the study, I examine what power dynamics emerge in eviction legal and power procedures through a narrative life story interview, using Michel Foucault’s theory of power, critical legal theory, and culturalist legal consciousness approaches. The situation of people living in municipal or state-subsidized housing is particularly vulnerable, as losing their housing is almost a direct path to homelessness. Understanding how power is manifested in eviction legal procedures, what means it employs, what strategies it uses, and how individuals react to it can help map the power dynamics that permeate Hungarian society’s fabric. I intend to not to draw general conclusions but merely to outline directions that can help to understand the operation of power.

Released: Replika 129, 165–188.