A Duty of Transnational Civil Disobedience

A not unsubstantial proportion of the academic literature on civil disobedience theorises from a perspective of methodological nationalism, centring the citizen and citizenship as the core elements to numerous cases of protest and resistance. This coincides with a broad inability or failure to consider cases of civil disobedience that have dimensions outwith the traditionally conceived boundaries of the state. This is in spite of the long history of transnational civil disobedience campaigns, with many of the most prominent recent examples of civil disobedience having transnational or global dimensions. As such, there is a clear need to think through civil disobedience at the transnational level – as several scholars have already begun doing. However, in what circumstances should transnational civil disobedience arise? Should it be an exceptional phenomenon? Should it be practised by a wide audience? How should our moral responsibilities be explained in these cases? I attempt here to focus on transnational civil disobedience in order to make the case that we have a duty to commit transnational civil disobedience in cases of injustices, especially what we may call ‘passive injustices’ that are ignored or not widely recognised as the injustices they are. It builds upon Shklarian notions of passive injustice and a need to avoid cruelty to argue that there is a duty or requirement upon everyone, as humans, to be disobedient in cases of injustice – irrespective of geography. This is, admittedly, a strong claim, but nevertheless one I defend.