Beyond Civil Disobedience

This book interrogates the nature and state of African American citizenship through the prism of Social Contract Theory. Challenging the United States’ commitment to African American citizenship, this book explores the idea of Social Nullification, the decision to reject, revoke and re-define the social contract with a state and society. Charles F. Peterson surveys the history of Social Contract Theory, examines Nullification as political and legal theory, argues public policy as a measure of the state’s commitment to the contractarian relationship and frames the writings and activism of Martin R. Delany, Ida B. Wells-Barnett and the African American Reparations Movement as examples of Social Nullification and challenges to the terms of Black life in America.

• locke
• social contract
• black lives matter
• civil rights
• michael brown
• citizenship

“In this timely and incisively argued book, Charles Peterson fundamentally upends our understanding of the modern social contract tradition and dominant accounts of citizenship. As an exemplary work of interdisciplinary scholarship, Peterson highlights the radical politics and modes of resistance of black activists and philosophers to bring forward the democratic idea of social nullifi cation. A necessary addition to the literature on critical race theory and political theory, Peterson’s book deserves to be widely read by scholars and students.” (Alex Zamalin, Associate Professor of Political Science, University of Detroit Mercy, USA)

“Charles Peterson reminds us of the centrality of ‘citizenship’ modern political philosophy, and the simultaneous denial of citizenship to African Americans. This denial derives from the prior denial of their very humanity within the same tradition. The resolution to this thorny issue is not to redraw the boundaries of citizenship within this tradition to accommodate African Americans. Rather, Peterson asks us to take seriously the alternative conceptions of citizenship offered by African American thinkers geared towards genuine emancipation for all. This is a timely intervention and it deserves to be widely read.” (Olúfémi Táíwò, Professor of Africana Studies, Cornell University, USA)

• Oberlin College, Oberlin, USA

  Charles F. Peterson

Charles F. Peterson is an Associate Professor of Africana Studies at Oberlin College, USA. Dr. Peterson writes on Africana political theory and aesthetics, and is a co-editor of Sons of Lovers: An Anthology of Poetry by Black Men (2000) and  De-Colonizing the Academy (2003), and author of DuBois, Fanon and Cabral: The Margins of Anti-Colonial Leadership (2007). He lives in Oberlin, OH where he has served as a five-term City Councilperson.

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