Destabilisation Explained

The word destabilisation (alternatively, destabilization) can be applied to a wide variety of contexts such as attempts to undermine political, military or economic power.

Psychology

In a psychological context, it is used as a technique in brainwashing and abuse to disorient and disarm the victim.

In the context of workplace bullying, destabilisation applied to the victim may involve:^{[1] [2]}

• failure to acknowledge good work and value the victim's efforts
• allocation of meaningless tasks
• removal of areas of responsibility without consultation
• repeated reminders of blunders
• setting up to fail
• shifting of goal posts without telling the victim
• persistent attempts to demoralise the victim

Destabilisation could also denote the extreme end of disinhibition syndrome and entail the complete shutdown of an individual's control of emotions, inhibitions, and productive functioning.^[3] The condition can be episodic or it could last for months or years, requiring professional care from a practitioner who is familiar with the individual's primary neurological disorder.

In psychology, there is also a process called cognitive destabilisation, which involves being open to conversions and transformations of various kinds.^[4] This could be used to counter political destabilisation by presenting a consensual view of the problem.^[5]

Other applications

Destabilisation is also used in the feminist context such as the way it is used to change the binary opposition between men and women, particularly how it gives the category 'woman' its meaning.^[6] For instance, this is expressed in many feminists' discomfort concerning postmodern theories' challenge to traditional binary oppositions, perceiving it as a subversion of women's attempt to define their own subjecthood.^[7] The body of literature on feminism also often invoke the need to destabilise modern theory, particularly the theoretical discourses that claim neutrality but are established from a masculine perspective.^[8] These attempts to destabilise modern female constructs have been informed by Jacques Derrida's deconstruction theory, particularly the destabilisation of positions and subjects that have been deemed holistic or authoritative.^[9]

In literature, a conceptualization refers to it as an aggression or a kind of attack on the reader to provoke discomfort.^[10] In international capital transactions, it is used to denote as a capital movement driven by erroneous forecast, driving the exchange rate away from equilibrium that would be supported by rational speculators whose foresight are correct.^[11]

Further reading

• Book: von Beyme, Klaus . Parliamentary Democracy: Democratization, Destabilization, Reconsolidation 1789-1999 . 2000 . Springer . Advances in Political Science . 978-0-230-51439-3 . 681925162 .
• Book: Dzimba, John . South Africa's Destabilization of Zimbabwe, 1980-89 . 1998 . Palgrave Macmillan . 978-0-230-37214-6 . 10.1057/9780230372146 . 759110485 .
• Book: Johnson . Phyllis . Martin . David Lozell . Apartheid Terrorism: The Destabilization Report . Changing Southern Africa . 1989 . Indiana University Press . 750898238 . 978-0-85255-340-4 .
• Book: Murillo . Mario A. . Avirama . Jesús Rey . Colombia and the United States: War, Unrest, and Destabilization . Open Media book . 2004 . New York . Seven Stories Press . 54806694 . 978-1-58322-606-3 . registration .
• Book: Sen, Mohit . Challenge of Destabilisation . 1987 . News Today . Madras . 551397347 .
• Book: Siṅgha . Darabāra . Destabilisation and Subversion: New Challenges . 1987 . Patriot Publishers . New Delhi . 18558315 . 978-81-7050-058-2 . registration .

Notes and References

1. Book: Rayner . Charlotte . Hoel . Helge . Cooper . Cary L. . Workplace Bullying: What We Know, Who Is to Blame and What Can We Do? . 2001 . Taylor & Francis . London . 978-0-415-24062-8 . 80758449 .
2. Book: Peyton, Pauline Rennie . Dignity at Work: Eliminate Bullying and Create a Positive Working Environment . 2003 . Brunner-Routledge . New York . 978-1-58391-237-9 . 52334801 .
3. Book: Wood, Rose. Dysinhibition Syndrome: How to Handle Anger and Rage in Your Child Or Spouse. Hope Press. 1999. 1878267086. Duarte, CA. 5.
4. Book: Anderson, Amanda. The Way We Argue Now: A Study in the Cultures of Theory. limited. Princeton University Press. 2009. 9780691114033. Princeton, NJ. 119.
5. Book: Transboundary Risk Governance. limited. Lidskog. Rolf. Soneryd. Linda. Uggla. Ylva. Earthscan. 2010. 9781844077915. Sterling, VA. 8.
6. Book: Destabilizing Theory: Contemporary Feminist Debates. Barrett. Michèle. Phillips. Anne. Stanford University Press. 1992. 0804720304. Stanford, CA. 8. en.
7. Book: Michael, Magali Cornier. Feminism and the Postmodern Impulse: Post-World War II Fiction. 1996. State University of New York Press. 0791430162. 25.
8. Book: Destabilizing Theory: Contemporary Feminist Debates. Barrett. Michèle. Phillips. Anne. 1992. Stanford University Press. 0804720304. Stanford, CA. 1.
9. Book: A Feminist Glossary of Human Geography. McDowell. Linda. Sharp. Joanne. 1999. Routledge. 0340741430. Oxon. 50.
10. Book: Hume, Kathryn. Aggressive Fictions: Reading the Contemporary American Novel. 2011-12-05. Cornell University Press. 9780801462887. en.
11. Book: Fieleke, Mr Norman S.. International Capital Transactions: Should They Be Restricted?. 1993-12-01. International Monetary Fund. 9781455220526. en.