British Journal of Political Science
The British Academy Brian Barry Prize Essay: Civil Disobedience and State Anxiety
2026-03-27
Political philosophers writing about civil disobedience have tended to neglect the anxiety of the state about such disobedience. I identify three components of state anxiety – Contagion , Fragility , Value – concerning the contagiousness of disobedience, and the fragility and value of public institutions. I argue that state anxiety can be substantiated or specious, depending on the plausibility of Contagion and Fragility . It can also be significant or trivial, depending on the plausibility of Value . Finally, and focusing on John Rawls’ influential discussions of civil disobedience, I show how political philosophizing can mirror state anxiety about disobedience and, in doing so, bolster it.