Humour and resistance in security studies An analysis of the Israeli TV show “Eretz Nehederetâ€

Humor in the form of satirical popular TV shows has proliferated in the Anglo-Saxon culture as well as other parts of the world. Undertaking a discourse analysis approach, this piece engages with the political narratives put forward by the Israeli satirical TV show “Eretz Nehederet†, consisting of parodies on contemporary international, regional and internal affairs. The political motivation of the show is central to the show’s creators who define themselves openly as beleaguered left-wing activists denouncing the occupation and the dominance of the right-wing party, the Likud. As such, can the popular Israeli show Eretz Nehederet be identified as a form of resistance? This research investigates the subversive potential of humor in framing an understanding of security in terms of emotion, rather than “political change†. By drawing on the concept of transformative resistance framed by James C. Scott, I argue that satire is a form of non-transformative resistance with the potential to contest or re-negotiate dominant conceptions of security and the Other. Finally, this study exposes the way in which “security†permeates society as a form of life and observes a range of affective dimensions embedded within discourses and practises in contemporary Israeli society.