Chapter 2 - The Right to Resistance

Summary

The chapter argues that if human rights are to be considered proper rights there must be a human right to resistance. It begins with defending the political conception of human rights, as it underpins the minimalist conception of transnational justice found in Chapter 1, and if the argument works for this conception then it will also work for more elaborate conceptions of human rights.

It argues that if the political conception of human rights are rights, then there must be a remedy to their violation. Resistance is the ultimate remedy when other means fail. If this was not the case then human rights would be rhetorical. The right to resistance can also be found in major documents such as the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and various UN resolutions on decolonisation and apartheid.

The structure of the right to resistance is examined by looking at three test cases: the Haitian Revolution, fugitive slaves, and day-to-day resistance. This shows that resistance can have justice-seeking and injustice-evading elements that need to be considered. More formally, it is a compound right with liberty and claim elements.