När samvetet möter realiteten - En jämförande idéanalys av Thoreaus, Gandhis och Kings relation till civil olydnad

Sammanfattning: Few political ideas have become as rooted in widely different societies and cultures during such long time and extent as civil disobedience. It has been used as a conscientious form of protest by people from all layers of society, and has also been applied to innumerable political situations. However, three individuals have distinguished themselves as both developers and practitioners of civil disobedience: namely Henry Thoreau, Mahatma Gandhi and Martin Luther King. By using idea analysis as a method, this thesis aims to elucidate and compare how these actors interpreted and used civil disobedience as a political instrument. Subsequently, the same ideational value has been attached to thought as well as action, which is explained by the fact that actions are brought forth by cognition. Based upon this notion, and through the usage of theories regarding civil disobedience, an analytical framework using dimensions was created with the intention of putting these actors in a classification scheme. The results of the analysis show that although some similarities can be found between Thoreau, Gandhi, and King, their understanding and utilization of civil disobedience differ in several critical aspects.