dissidence
Defiance of authority
Dissidence is open disagreement with established authority, especially political opposition to a ruling regime.
The term gained currency during the Cold War, when Soviet dissidents challenged communist governments at personal risk.
Dissidence implies principled, often public resistance rather than mere private disagreement: The regime tolerated no dissidence.
A dissident is one who engages in dissidence.
System of governance
- oppositionActive resistance or dissent
- censorshipOfficial content restriction
- persecutionSystematic mistreatment of groups
- undergroundBelow ground or countercultural
samizdat · exile · asylum · political prisoner · crackdown · authoritarianism · totalitarianism · repression
Belief opposing official doctrine
- heterodoxyUnorthodox belief or opinion
- nonconformityRejection of prevailing norms
- freethinkingIntellectually independent reasoning
- contrarianChronic majority-opposer
iconoclasm · skepticism · unorthodox · maverick · counterculture · radical thought · questioning authority · independent thought
Public display of opinion
- rallyGathering for a cause
- marchRhythmic group walk
- civil disobediencePeaceful refusal to obey
- sit-inProtest by remaining seated
boycott · strike · vigil · picket · placard · banner · chant · solidarity
One refusing military service morally
- whistleblowerInsider who reports misconduct
- convictionFirmly held belief
- integrityMoral soundness and consistency
- refusalAct of declining
Violent disagreement or collision
- frictionResistance between touching surfaces
- discordLack of agreement
- schismFormal organizational fracture
- riftCrack or estrangement
factionalism · polarization · divide · rupture · estrangement · tension · sectarianism · infighting
regime
System of governance
- oppositionActive resistance or dissent
- censorshipOfficial content restriction
- persecutionSystematic mistreatment of groups
underground · samizdat · exile · asylum · political prisoner · crackdown · authoritarianism · totalitarianism · repression · surveillance
heresy
Belief opposing official doctrine
- heterodoxyUnorthodox belief or opinion
- nonconformityRejection of prevailing norms
- freethinkingIntellectually independent reasoning
contrarian · iconoclasm · skepticism · unorthodox · maverick · counterculture · radical thought · questioning authority · independent thought
demonstration
Public display of opinion
- rallyGathering for a cause
- marchRhythmic group walk
- civil disobediencePeaceful refusal to obey
sit-in · boycott · strike · vigil · picket · placard · banner · chant · solidarity · nonviolent resistance
conscientious objector
One refusing military service morally
- whistleblowerInsider who reports misconduct
- convictionFirmly held belief
- integrityMoral soundness and consistency
clash
Violent disagreement or collision
- frictionResistance between touching surfaces
- discordLack of agreement
- schismFormal organizational fracture
rift · factionalism · polarization · divide · rupture · estrangement · tension · sectarianism · infighting · splinter group
- Nonconformistsnonconformist, rebels, rebel, misfits, misfit
- resistanceresistance, defiance, resistance fighters, civil resistance, resist
- objectionsobjection, complaint, protest, refutation, demur
- East German crimesborder crossing, defection, escape attempts, Stasi, political crimes
- movementsmove, step, turn, shift, slide
- treasontreason, high treason, sedition, turncoat, state betrayal
dissidencecompliance
Adhering to requirements
loyalty · obedience · allegiance · conformism · acquiescence
dissidenceconformity
Adherence to norms
orthodoxy · conventionality · conformation · traditionalism · groupthink
dissidenceaccord
Harmony between parties
agreement · concord · harmony · concordance · concurrence
- political dissidentOne opposing their government
- dissident literatureBanned works opposing authority
- dissident movementOrganized group challenging authority
- Soviet dissidentsUSSR citizens opposing their government
- dissident writersAuthors persecuted for politics