One of the most important elements of democracy is that laws or government policies are open to change in line with influences from the public.There are several ways in which it can implement civil society laws and government policies. Accordingly, the society can negotiate directly with the civil government or the parliament, may apply to judicial remedies to change the practices that are thought to be wrong and also they may through various actions raise public awareness and try to influence decision makers through this indirect effect. This article deals with “acts of civil disobedience”, which can be considered as a special type of these actions.
Today, resistance to oppression is self-evident in two main forms. Passive resistance and active resistance. The way to resist oppression without resorting to coercion and violence is passive resistance. In the subject of passive resistance, this concept is preceded by Henry David Thoreau, counted, never condoned the violence and stood for unofficial resistance. Firstly, civil disobedience; the element of violence to the extent that it is a form of action or political expression that does not is considered as an expression of being an individual within the system, but in the understanding of the new rule of law. In a democratic legal order, the legitimacy and continuity of the state depend on the state acting in line with the wishes and choices of the individuals that make up it. At this point, there are ways in which the individual/society can prevent the arbitrariness of the power and defend their rights. The democratic legal order has granted the individual the right to defend and protect himself against injustice. Civil disobedience is an “illegal” action taken after all legal ways have been tried against an unfair practice. However, this act is a type of reaction used to express the concern over the violation of the social contract. In this sense, civil disobedience is considered an illegal but “legitimate” act.[1]
Thoreau, in his book Civil Disobedience “The best management is the least ruler.” started by saying.What makes him think like this is that the administration is unable to respond to people’s demands and abuses its power. He mentions that people have the right to resist when life becomes unbearable due to the tyranny and incompetence of the administration. I think he want to mention that; just as in monarchical systems when all power is in the hands of one person, he wants to use his primary power to the fullest -many examples are available in history-, in fact, this is in psychology for the people at the head of the state. Howard Zinn thinks just like Henry David Thoreau and he said “Civil disobedience is not our problem, our problem is civil obedience”. Laws and rules serve the purpose of the states we obey the most, that is, they control us. Moreover, just like the provincial in Kafka’s story, our lives are rotting and waiting in front of the law gate.
The main question asked in discussions about power is whether you or others have a say in decision about your life. While you can make choices about your life in a civil society, others in a political they enforce their own decisions by force. At this point, activities aimed at respecting the rights of individuals, the degree of sensitivity to the violation of the law or rule, the awareness of owning rights, is important in terms of the guarantees of the law. Because the weakness of the consciousness of being an individual can lead members of society to authoritarian tendencies. However, the degree of social organization is intense a suitable environment for the development of their rights and freedoms will be prepared.[2] Ökçesiz defines civil disobedience as follows. “Civil disobedience is everything: the right to resist, questioning the law and the state order, the reality of society, is a contemporary form in which this place takes on the type of law and state order by creating the ideal of the State of Law in this process.” [3] In order to prevent the political authority from violating freedoms, the participation of the individual in the government is a prerequisite.
In closing; civil disobedience, defined as a kind of right to resist, offers effective methods for the protection of freedoms. Moreover civil disobedience, which is shaped on the basis of good will, nonviolence and compromise, can be interpreted as a different political philosophical trend with these qualities.
References
[1]http://tbbdergisi.barobirlik.org.tr/m2011-93-700
[2]http://tbbdergisi.barobirlik.org.tr/m2011-93-700
[3] Ökçesiz, Hayrettin, Sivil İtaatsizlik, Afa Yayınları, İstanbul 1994, s. 130
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