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.
- ISBN10 0198245041
- ISBN13 9780198245049
- Publish Date 24 May 1973
- Publish Status Out of Print
- Out of Print 17 October 2003
- Publish Country GB
- Imprint Oxford University Press
- Format Hardcover
- Pages 158
- Language English