Civil Disobedience and International Law: Sketch for a Theoretical Argument
34 Pages Posted: 23 Jul 2008 Last revised: 5 Mar 2014
Date Written: July 19, 2008
Abstract
This article argues that there is an increasing trend of civil society resorting to civil disobedience in relation to international legal values. International law, however, has not caught up with this trend. In fact, both international law and civil disobedience can gain much from a better understanding of their interaction. The article briefly traces the record of arguments drawn from international law in civil disobedience cases, highlights the theoretical constraints of the debate, and seeks to throw some basic foundations for an international legal theory of legitimate civil disobedience.
Keywords: international law, civil disobedience, state, sovereignty, resistance, civil society, authority, legitimacy
JEL Classification: K1, K10, K14, K3, K33, K42
Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation