Democracy and disobedience

Abstract

Asking, Why, or in what circumstances, ought we to obey the law?, this work focuses on the common view that disobedience to the law, while justifiable in a dictatorship, is much more difficult to justify in a democracy. It then develops a theory of political obligation in an ideal democracy. After discussing various forms of disobedience, the author wonders to what extent systems of government approximate to this ideal and why Western democracies fall short of it. The book concludes with a brief case study: the development of disobedience in Northern Ireland.

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