Hostname: page-component-6bb9c88b65-6scc2 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2025-07-25T01:26:04.917Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Resistance, Law, and the Limits of the Disobedience Framework

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  23 July 2025

ÇİĞDEM ÇIDAM*
Affiliation:
https://ror.org/058w5nk68 Union College , United States
*
Corresponding author: Çiğdem Çidam, Professor, Department of Political Science, Union College, United States, cidamc@union.edu.

Abstract

In the last decade, many scholars have sought to overcome the shortcomings of the reified conception of civil disobedience that was developed in the 1970s by offering alternative conceptions of (un)civil disobedience. The “disobedience framework” is now so predominant that it is almost unthinkable to refer to any protest involving an alleged infraction of official rules as anything other than disobedience. I argue that this overstretching of “disobedience” rests on the misleading assumption that “intentional lawbreaking” occurs in an uncontested political/legal space; it also ignores that, in certain contexts, activists insist on the legality of their protests even when they defy official orders. Examining how feminist activists in Turkey offer alternative interpretations of existing laws to challenge the legality of protest bans, I demonstrate that folding such protests into the disobedience framework silences protesters, erases their narratives of resistance, and adopts the state’s perspective on the “illegality” of their actions.

Information

Type
Research Article
Copyright
© The Author(s), 2025. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of American Political Science Association

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Article purchase

Temporarily unavailable

Footnotes

Handling editor: Julie Rose.

References

REFERENCES

Acar, Feride, and Altunok, Gülbanu. 2013. “The ‘Politics of Intimate’ at the Intersection of Neo-Liberalism and Neo-Conservatism in Contemporary Turkey.” Women’s Studies International Forum 41: 1423.10.1016/j.wsif.2012.10.001CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Akdemir, Ege. 2022. “Sounding Possible Worlds: The Cacophony of the Istanbul Feminist Night Marches.” European Journal of Women’s Studies 29 (4): 542–58.10.1177/13505068221122700CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Akgül, Elif. 2022. “‘Zıplamayan Tayyip’ Davası: Feminist Gece Yürüyüşü’ne katılan kadınların yargılanmasına Mayıs’ta devam edilecek.” MLSA, December 23. https://www.mlsaturkey.com/tr/ziplamayan-tayyip-davasi-feminist-gece-yuruyusune-katilan-kadinlarin-yargilanmasina-mayista-devam-edilecek.Google Scholar
Akgül, Elif. 2024. “Istanbul Bölge Adliye Mahkemesi’nin Feminist Gece Yürüyüşü kararı: Yasaklama orantısız ve ölçüsüz tedbir.” MLSA, March 22. https://mlsaturkey.com/tr/Istanbul-bolge-adliye-mahkemesinin-feminist-gece-yuruyusu-karari-yasaklama-orantisiz-ve-olcusuz-tedbir.Google Scholar
Altıparmak, Kerem. 2013. “Gezi’nin Hatırlattığı Hak: Barışçıl Toplantı.” Bianet, July 3. https://everywheretaksim.net/tr/tag/bariscil-toplanti/index.html.Google Scholar
Arat, Yeşim. 2016. “Islamist Women and Feminist Concerns in Contemporary Turkey: Prospects for Women’s Rights and Solidarity.” Frontiers: A Journal of Women Studies 37 (3): 125–50.10.1353/fro.2016.a634365CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Arat, Yeşim. 2022. “Democratic Backsliding and the Instrumentalization of Women’s Rights in Turkey.” Politics & Gender 18 (4): 911–41.10.1017/S1743923X21000192CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Arslanalp, Mert, and Erkmen, T. Deniz. 2020a. “Mobile Emergency Rule in Turkey: Legal Repression of Protests During Authoritarian Transformation.” Democratization 27 (6): 947–69.10.1080/13510347.2020.1753701CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Arslanalp, Mert and Erkmen, T. Deniz. 2020b. “Repression Without Exception: A Study of Protest Bans During Turkey’s State of Emergency (2016–2018).” South European Society and Politics 25 (1): 99125.10.1080/13608746.2020.1748353CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Arslanalp, Mert, and Erkmen, T. Deniz. 2022. “Spatial Reason of the State: The Role of Space in Protest Repression in Turkey.” Territory, Politics, Governance 11 (5): 915–33.10.1080/21622671.2022.2033640CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bianet . 2023. “Gece Yürüyüşü’ne katıldıkları için yargılanan kadınlar beraat etti.” September 28. https://bianet.org/haber/gece-yuruyusu-ne-katildiklari-icin-yargilanan-kadinlar-beraat-etti-285529. Accessed June 16, 2025.Google Scholar
Brownlee, Kimberley. 2004. “Features of a Paradigm Case of Civil Disobedience.” Res Publica 10 (4): 337–51.10.1007/s11158-004-2326-6CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Caltekin, Demet Asli. 2022. “Women’s Organisations’ Role in (Re)Constructing the Narratives in Femicide Cases: Şule Çet’s Case.” Laws 11(1): 1228.10.3390/laws11010012CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Çaylı Rahte, Emek, and Tokdoğan, Nurgül. 2014. “Sokakta Kadın Olmak, Alanda ve Gezi’de, Gecede ve Gündüzde.” Moment Dergi 1 (1): 6986.10.17572/mj2014.1.6986CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Celikates, Robin. 2016a. “Rethinking Civil Disobedience as a Practice of Contestation—Beyond the Liberal Paradigm: Rethinking Civil Disobedience as a Practice of Contestation.” Constellations 23 (1): 3745.10.1111/1467-8675.12216CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Celikates, Robin. 2016b. “Democratizing Civil Disobedience.” Philosophy & Social Criticism 42 (10): 982–94.10.1177/0191453716638562CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Celikates, Robin. 2018. “Constituent Power Beyond Exceptionalism: Irregular Migration, Disobedience, and (Re-)Constitution.” Journal of International Political Theory 15 (1): 6781.10.1177/1755088218808311CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cover, Robert M. 1975. Justice Accused: Antislavery and the Judicial Process. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press.Google Scholar
Cover, Robert M. 1983. “The Supreme Court, 1982 Term-Foreword: Nomos and Narrative.Harvard Law Review 97 (1): 468.10.2307/1340787CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cumburiyet . 2022. “Feminist Gece Yürüyüşü’nde Ritme göre Zıplayan Kadınlar Hakim Karşısında.” March 1. https://www.cumhuriyet.com.tr/turkiye/feminist-gece-yuruyusunde-ritme-gore-ziplayan-kadinlar-hakim-karsisinda-1912156.Google Scholar
Delmas, Candice. 2016Civil Disobedience.” Philosophy Compass 11 (11): 681–91.10.1111/phc3.12354CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Delmas, Candice. 2018. A Duty to Resist: When Disobedience Should Be Uncivil. Oxford: Oxford University Press.10.1093/oso/9780190872199.001.0001CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Delmas, Candice. 2024. “The Right to Hunger Strike.” American Political Science Review 118 (2): 848–61.10.1017/S0003055423000400CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Edyvane, Derek, and Kulenovic, Enes. 2017. “Disruptive Disobedience.” The Journal of Politics 79 (4): 1359–71.10.1086/692666CrossRefGoogle Scholar
El-Haj, Tabatha Abu. 2015. “Defining Peaceably: Policing the Line Between Constitutionally Protected Protest and Unlawful Speech.” Missouri Law Review 80 (4): 961–86.Google Scholar
Freedman, Allison. 2023. “Arresting Assembly—An Argument Against Expanding Criminally Punishable Protest.” Villanova Law Review 68 (2): 171220.Google Scholar
Gourevitch, Alex. 2023. “Strikes, Civil Rights, and Radical Disobedience: From King to Debs and Back.” Contemporary Political Theory 22 (2): 143–64.10.1057/s41296-022-00564-7CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gündoğdu, Ayten. 2025. “From the Colony to the Border: Lawful Lawlessness of Racial Violence.” In Lawless Zones, Rightless Subjects: Migration, Asylum and Shifting Borders, eds. Shachar, Ayelet and Benhabib, Seyla, 175–91. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.10.1017/9781009512824.014CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hamilton, Michael. 2021. “The Management of Protest and Dissent.” In Routledge Handbook of Illiberalism, eds. Sajó, András, Uitz, Renáta, and Holmes, Stephen, 384402. New York: Routledge.10.4324/9780367260569-30CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Harcourt, Bernard E. 2012. “Political Disobedience.” Critical Inquiry 39 (1): 3355.10.1086/668049CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Human Rights Watch. 2019. “Turkey: Baseless Charges Over Landmark 2013 Protests.” March 25. https://www.hrw.org/news/2019/03/25/turkey-baseless-charges-over-landmark-2013-protests.Google Scholar
Inazu, John. 2017. “Unlawful Assembly as Social ControlUCLA Law Review 64 (2): 152.Google Scholar
Jubb, Robert. 2019. “Disaggregating Political Authority: What’s Wrong with Rawlsian Civil Disobedience?Political Studies 67 (4): 955–71.10.1177/0032321718816208CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kadın Savunma Ağı. 2022. “8 Mart Yargılanamaz, Soruşturmayı Geri Çekin!” April 12. https://kadinsavunmasi.org/8-mart-yargilanamaz-sorusturmayi-geri-cekin.Google Scholar
Khazan, Olga 2012. “China: Self-Immolators and Their Abettors Will Be Charged with Murder.” Washington Post, December 6. https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2012/12/06/china-self-immolators-and-their-abettors-will-be-charged-with-murder/.Google Scholar
King, Martin Luther Jr. [1964] 2000. “Letter from Birmingham Jail.” In Why We Can’t Wait, 85–112. New York: New American Library.Google Scholar
Lai, Ten-Herng. 2019. “Justifying Uncivil Disobedience.” In Oxford Studies in Political Philosophy, Volume 5, eds. Sobel, David, Vallentyne, Peter, and Wall, Steven, 90114. Oxford: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Lee, JongWon. 2024. “Is Uncivil Disobedience ‘Phenomenologically Accurate’ and ‘Politically Useful’? Reflections on Uncivil Disobedience Based on the 2019 Hong Kong Protests.” Australian Journal of Political Science 59 (3): 291307.10.1080/10361146.2024.2393584CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lim, Chong-Ming. 2021. “Differentiating Disobedients.” Journal of Ethics and Social Philosophy 20 (3): 119–43.10.26556/jesp.v20i2.1430CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lobel, Jules. 1995. “Losers, Fools and Prophets: Justice as Struggle.” Cornell Law Review 80 (5): 1331–421.Google Scholar
Markovits, Daniel. 2005. “Democratic Disobedience.” The Yale Law Journal 114 (8): 1897–952.Google Scholar
Neumann, Franz. [1937] 1996. “The Change in the Function of Law in Modern Society.” In The Rule of Law Under Siege: Selected Essays of Franz L. Neumann and Otto Kirchheimer, ed. Scheuerman, William E., 101–41. Berkeley: University of California Press.10.1525/9780520917347-006CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Neumann, Franz. [1947] 2009. Behemoth: The Structure and Practice of National Socialism, 1933–1944. Chicago, IL: Ivan R. Dee.Google Scholar
Özbudun, Ergun. 2015. “Turkey’s Judiciary and the Drift Toward Competitive Authoritarianism.” The International Spectator 50 (2): 4255.10.1080/03932729.2015.1020651CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Page, Elly, and Robinson, Nick. 2024. “Legal Threats to the Right to Protest.” In The Oxford Handbook of Peaceful Assembly, eds. El-Haj, Tabatha Abu, Hamilton, Michael, Probert, Thomas, and Srinivasan, Sharath. Oxford: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Pineda, Erin R. 2021. Seeing Like an Activist: Civil Disobedience and the Civil Rights Movement. Oxford: Oxford University Press.10.1093/oso/9780197526422.001.0001CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Pope, James Gray. 1997. “Labor’s Constitution of Freedom.” The Yale Law Journal 106 (4): 9411031.10.2307/797148CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Preciado, Beatriz. 2012. “Architecture as a Practice of Biopolitical Disobedience.” Log 25: 121–34.Google Scholar
Rawls, John. 1999. A Theory of Justice. Rev. ed. Cambridge, MA: Belknap Press of Harvard University Press.10.4159/9780674042582CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Robinson, Nick. 2022. “Rethinking the Crime of Rioting.” Minnesota Law Review 107 (1): 77138.Google Scholar
Scheuerman, William E. 2015. “Recent Theories of Civil Disobedience: An Anti-Legal Turn?Journal of Political Philosophy 23 (4): 427–49.10.1111/jopp.12055CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Scheuerman, William E. 2022. “Why Not Uncivil Disobedience?Critical Review of International Social and Political Philosophy 25 (1): 980–99.10.1080/13698230.2019.1693158CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Siegel, Reva B. 2001. “Text in Contest: Gender and the Constitution from a Social Movement Perspective.” University of Pennsylvania Law Review 150 (1): 297351.10.2307/3312918CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Siegel, Reva B. 2006. “Constitutional Culture, Social Movement Conflict and Constitutional Change: The Case of the De Facto Era. 2005-06 Brennan Center Symposium Lecture.” California Law Review 94 (5): 1323–419.10.2307/20439068CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Şirin, Tolga. 2013. “Türkiye’de Toplantı ve Gösteri Yürüyüşü Düzenleme Hakkına İlişkin Sorunlar.” Anayasa Hukuku Dergisi 2 (4): 289315.Google Scholar
Şirin, Tolga. 2018. “‘Kanun’ ve ‘Yasa’ Sözcükleri Nereden Gelir?” September 28. https://www.tolgasirin.net/post/kanun-yasa.Google Scholar
Tekeli, Şirin. 2010. “The Turkish Women’s Movement: A Brief History of Success.Quaderns de la Mediterrània 14: 119–23.Google Scholar
Submit a response

Comments

No Comments have been published for this article.