Abstract

The right to resist has been discussed ever since human collectivity has been regulated by law and political power. One crucial systematic problem is to legitimize a right above the law. After the right to resist became positive law in Germany, the discussion focussed on the question how a law like this is possible according to the logic of legislation. On the other hand the ethical theory of human rights claimed it to be an element of natural law. This paper argues that both interpretations fall short of the eminent political dimension of political resistance. This is shown by a critique of the attempts to legitimize the right to resist in the history of political thought. The missing of a consistent legal or moral argumentation for it may open the perspective on the basic political problems.