Uncivil Disobedience – Studies in Violence and Democratic Politics

"This fine study explores the compatibilities and tensions between rule by the people and the rule of law. Grounded in history, it offers a rich and articulate analysis of actual violent conflicts. Informed by political theory, it provides a sophisticated and timely reflection on manifestations of conflicts of values in American democracy and their implications for liberal justice and politics."--Marianne Constable, University of California, Berkeley

"Jennet Kirkpatrick has done something quite remarkable in this book. She has taken a set of unsavory characters--vigilantes, members of lynch mobs, and far-right militiamen--studied their arguments, and placed them within the tradition of political theory. She demonstrates that understanding is the necessary prelude to criticism. And she adds militant abolitionists to the mix so that we can't resist the demonstration. The result is a wonderfully illuminating argument."--Michael Walzer, professor emeritus, Institute for Advanced Study

"Kirkpatrick has written a wonderful book--thoughtful, provocative, elegant, and unexpected. She begins with a jolting historical point: the United States has a long history of domestic terrorists. These are not revolutionaries seeking to overthrow the American regime but rather men and women pursuing democratic ideals and, as they see it, the promises made by the Constitution itself. This is an important book."--James A. Morone, author of Hellfire Nation: The Politics of Sin in American History

"Kirkpatrick presents a clear and important argument, namely that the wish for an immediate and coherent connection between the moral values or will of any group and what the law says or does is dangerous and ultimately incompatible with democratic politics. Uncivil Disobedience is an intriguing study of the origins and philosophies of violent citizen action groups in the United States."--Austin Sarat, Amherst College

"An outstanding piece of scholarship. Kirkpatrick refers to the 'dangerous potential of democratic ideas.' This is a very apt phrase, and it is an expression of what she explores in this very original and thought-provoking book. Kirkpatrick is not at all hostile to American democracy, but she is very alert to its pitfalls. She is a social scientist in the best sense of the term."--Richard Maxwell Brown, University of Oregon