Reclaiming the Revolutionary Spirit

European Journal of Political Theory 9 (2):149-166 (2010)
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Abstract

This article examines Hannah Arendt’s bold and provocative proposal to institutionalize civil disobedience. First, I argue that the proposal follows from Arendt’s peculiar interpretation of this mode of protest. She sees it as an unexpected yet welcome echo of the revolutionary spirit that accompanied the foundation of the American republic. In seeking to bring civil disobedience into government, she aims to embed this spirit within the very institutional fabric of the polity. Second, I suggest that we have strong reasons to take the proposal seriously as an account of how the constitutional state should respond to dissenting minorities. The call to institutionalize civil disobedience can be defended as an approach that is different to — and ultimately more appealing than — familiar liberal and democratic perspectives on this issue.

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William Smith
Rice University

Citations of this work

Must I Accept Prosecution for Civil Disobedience?Daniel Weltman - 2020 - Philosophical Quarterly 70 (279):410-418.
Unruly kids? Conceptualizing and defending youth disobedience.Nikolas Mattheis - 2022 - European Journal of Political Theory 21 (3):466-490.
Unruly kids? Conceptualizing and defending youth disobedience.Nikolas Mattheis - 2020 - European Journal of Political Theory 21 (3):147488512091837.

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