Abstract: Over the past few years, acts of civil disobedience seem to have spread and intensified, with legions of protest groups and collectives of “disobeyers.” In spheres as diverse as education, unemployment benefits, and, of course, tracking illegal immigrants, the calls for resistance to orders or decrees considered to be unjust have grown exponentially. Press articles, television programs, and militant, journalistic, and scientific publications devoted to it spring up every day.“Civil disobedience” means different things to different people and covers extremely diverse tactics, from direct action (“citizens’ inspections” of military sites, and defiance of legal limits on protest) to passive resistance. Militant/activist demands are widely debated. Their relationship with classic forms of militancy which they are seeking to update is equally commented on and analyzed. Yet civil disobedience is rarely understood as being a crucial part of representative democracy. The work Pourquoi desobeir en democratie? [Why Disobey in a Democracy?] sets out to fill this gap in understanding. Mouvements has therefore launched a debate with activists and protesters.
Publication Year: 2011
Publication Date: 2011-01-01
Language: en
Type: article
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