The Cambridge Companion to Civil Disobedience

Outlines the theory and practice of civil disobedience, helping to understand how it is operating in the current turbulent conditions.

William E. Scheuerman (Edited by)

9781108745468, Cambridge University Press

Paperback / softback, published 15 July 2021

300 pages
22.9 x 15 x 2.7 cm, 0.68 kg

'… The Cambridge Companion to Civil Disobedience … offers a brilliant and illuminating overview of the contemporary debates on civil disobedience and for that it will no doubt become an invaluable resource for anyone who is interested in politics of protest.' C. Cidam, Perspectives on Politics

The theory and practice of civil disobedience has once again taken on import, given recent events. Considering widespread dissatisfaction with normal political mechanisms, even in well-established liberal democracies, civil disobedience remains hugely important, as a growing number of individuals and groups pursue political action. 'Digital disobedients', Black Lives Matter protestors, Extinction Rebellion climate change activists, Hong Kong activists resisting the PRC's authoritarian clampdown…all have practiced civil disobedience. In this Companion, an interdisciplinary group of scholars reconsiders civil disobedience from many perspectives. Whether or not civil disobedience works, and what is at stake when protestors describe their acts as civil disobedience, is systematically examined, as are the legacies and impact of Henry Thoreau, Mahatma Gandhi, and Martin Luther King.

Introduction: Why, Once Again, Civil Disobedience? William E. Scheuerman
Part I. Plural Voices, Rival Frameworks: 1. The Domestication of Henry David Thoreau Russell L. Hanson
2. Martin Luther King, Jr. and the Politics of Disobedient Civility Erin Pineda
3. Liberalism: John Rawls and Ronald Dworkin Alexander Kaufman
4. Deliberative Democratic Disobedience Will Smith
5. Radical Democratic Disobedience Robin Celikates
6. Realist Disobedience Andrew Sabl
7. Anarchism: Provincializing Civil Disobedience James Ingram
Part II. Different Elements, Competing Interpretations: 8. (In)civility Candice Delmas
9. The Ethical Dimension of Civil Disobedience Maeve Cooke
10. Nonviolence and the Coercive Turn Alexander Livingston
11. Punishment and Civil Disobedience Christopher Bennett and Kimberley Brownlee
Part III. Changing Circumstances, Political Consequences: 12. Global Citizenship, Global Civil Disobedience and Political Vices Luis Cabrera
13. Civil Disobedience by States? David Lefkowitz
14. Coding Resistance: Digital Strategies of Civil Disobedience Theresa Züger
15. Whistleblowing as Civil Disobedience William E. Scheuerman
16. Consequences of Civil Disobedience Kurt Schock.

Subject Areas: Civil rights & citizenship [JPVH1], Political science & theory [JPA], Social & political philosophy [HPS]