Abstract
Illegal state actions are sometimes interpreted as civil disobedience. Yet, liberal theorists insist that, to count as such, states must intend to reform the systemic imperfections of the international legal order. Moreover, states must have the capacity to engineer such reforms responsibly. These requirements result in an elitist conception of international civil disobedience because weaker states cannot refashion the key rules of the international legal order. By introducing a broader conception of resistance than found in existing theory, I show how weaker states can still engage in civil disobedience. A conceptual framework of two types of power supports my argument:
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
