Antigone’s Principle

Disobedience in democracy means rethinking the social contract which associates and unites citizens. In that sense, disobedience is a disclosure : it offers a negative image of the conformity and the functioning of power when it edicts and applies laws and executive orders. The article uses historical examples—the June 1848 insurrection, draft evasion and demonstration during the Algerian War, the May 68 protest movement—to examine various forms of disobedience in democracy. It stresses its historic dimension, i.e. the way it is anchored in its time and displays a consciousness which is both historical and political.