When, where, and how may citizens be violent?

In recent years, amidst the rise of authoritarianism and other injustices, political theorists are reevaluating the normative boundaries of political disobedience. This review compares and evaluates two recent contributions to this effort from Avia Pasternak and William E. Scheuerman. It identifies shared features such as the importance of democratic equality and the instrumental value of disobedience before explaining how they disagree about the concept and permissibility of violence. The review concludes that ultimately the fundamental divide between the authors is not whether citizens may ever use violence in defense of their basic rights and interests, but where and when the conditions obtain for permissibly doing so.