civil disobedience
active, professed refusal to obey certain laws, demands, and commands of a government, or of an occupying international power
AI overview
Civil disobedience is when people deliberately refuse to follow certain laws or government orders because they believe those laws are unjust. It matters because it has been a way for people throughout history to challenge what they see as unfair rules while accepting the legal consequences of their actions.
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Article
Mahatma Gandhi making salt in violation of and protest against British salt laws
Civil disobedience is the active and professed refusal of a citizen to obey certain laws, demands, orders, or commands of a government (or any other authority). By some definitions, civil disobedience has to be nonviolent to be called "civil". Hence, civil disobedience is sometimes equated with peaceful protests or nonviolent resistance. Henry David Thoreau's essay Resistance to Civil Government, first published in 1849 and then published posthumously in 1866 as Civil Disobedience, popularized the term in the US, although the concept itself was practiced long before this work.