The Cambridge Companion to Civil Disobedience Cambridge Companions to Philosophy Series

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.

William E. Scheuerman is James H. Rudy Professor of Political Science at Indiana University.