Some are more open and obvious than others. When police attack protests, when pickets are broken up, when opposition is imprisoned it is clear what the State is up to. However there are subtler tactics, one is the way in which opposition movements are 'incorporated' and made part of the system. This article looks at some examples, mostly from Ireland, but the same process can be seen at work internationally. It is the process by which radical individuals or groups are integrated into the State structure thus neutralising them as an effective opposition.
Incorporation is integral to the operation of most advanced Capitalist countries.
It is a mechanism by which, day to day, opposition can be diluted and disarmed. Incorporation is mediated through an organisation's needs for funding. Whoever pays the piper calls the tune. This old saying is well understood by the State and the bosses who are prepared to pay a limited amount in order to ensure social stability. Basically an incorporated opposition group rather than fighting against the State has become a quasi-independent arm of that State.