Smith, William (2003) Justifying civil disobedience: an essay on political protest in a constitutional democracy. PhD thesis, University of Warwick.

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Abstract

In this essay I examine whether and when civil disobedience -a principled and illegal act of political protest -is ever justifiable in a constitutional democracy. Using ideas from contemporary political philosophy, I develop a theory that forges a close connection between justifications of civil disobedience and the public political principles of a constitutional democracy. I argue that non-violent civil disobedience can be justified in any of the following three circumstances: (i) when citizens reasonably believe that law or policy violates rights, (ii) when citizens reasonably believe that law and policy should recognise and protect new rights, and (iii) when citizens reasonably believe that democratic decisions have been reached in an insufficiently deliberative fashion. Despite its illegality, justified civil disobedience represents one way in which good citizens can demonstrate fidelity to the principles that regulate political power, and one way in which they can try to close the gap between principle and practice in their societies. The account of civil disobedience developed in this thesis can be defended as (a) an original treatment of a recently neglected issue in political theory and (b) a plausible and relevant theory for ongoing conversations about the nature and role of political protest within representative democracies. In order to support these claims, throughout the thesis I apply some of the most recent developments in political theory to the old subject of political disobedience, and illustrate my arguments through referring to several recent cases of civil disobedience within representative democracies.

Item Type:	Thesis or Dissertation (PhD)
Subjects:	J Political Science > JC Political theory
Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH):	Civil disobedience, Democracy, International relations, Civil society, Cosmopolitanism
Official Date:	September 2003
Dates:	Date Event September 2003 Submitted
Institution:	University of Warwick
Theses Department:	Department of Sociology
Thesis Type:	PhD
Publication Status:	Unpublished
Supervisor(s)/Advisor:	Fine, Robert,|d1945- , Hurley, S. L. (Susan L.)
Sponsors:	Economic and Social Research Council (Great Britain)
Extent:	v, 296 leaves
Language:	eng

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