Is civil disobedience ever a justified form of political participation?

Answer 1

The bearing of personal, political, and religious convictions against state and social coercion is a fundamental and natural human right. By definition civil disobedience and nonviolent resistance are inherently forms of political participation because they force action and due process on those of conviction. One of the primary objectives of civil disobedience and nonviolence is can compel society and the oppressing parties into a mirror capturing the injustice of their actions. These were precisely the reasonings behind Gandhi and Martin Luther King's movements. Furthermore, Thomas Jefferson wrote on numerous occasions that citizenry have the moral duty to disobey illegal laws, forming a core political ideology behind the American Revolution and American political philosophy. Lastly, civil disobedience took on deeper connotations as a result of the Nuremberg War Crimes Tribunal. It was concluded that following illegal orders is not a valid defence. The implication there is that government officers, servicemen, and citizens have a duty and right to defy illegal orders.