The Governance of Defiance

Deliberate defiance against laws generates mixed reactions in observers: it can be tolerated as freedom of expression, or it can be sanctioned as disruption to the social order. How then should we interpret defiance, and more importantly, how should we respond to it? This project seeks to answer these questions through developing and testing empirically a theoretical framework for understanding defiance. The context for empirical analysis is defiance of government authority. The project will shed light on a) the dimensions of defiance; b) the conditions under which individuals practice defiance in response to government; and c) how defiance can be managed while strengthening, not compromising, traditions of democratic governance.