Originally posted to the Guardian 

Civil disobedience is a way of expressing political opposition that pushes beyond what the law allows you to do, in terms of resistance. It is an act that says “we are deliberately breaking an unjust law.” We often talk about it as a problem. In fact, I would argue that our problem is civil obedience. People too readily accept governments that do not hold to their promises.

My first brush with civil disobedience was when I was 15 and in the years since, I’ve learned a few things about its power, and its limitations. Here’s a few of my lessons:

1. Nothing important comes without sacrifice

Protesters in Fordsburg, South Africa. Photograph: Getty Images

I was one of thousands of young people in South Africa that joined the national student protests a... Read more >

On Thursday, one of the busiest harbours in the world was the backdrop for a citizen action to do what governments are seemingly unable or unwilling to; reject arctic oil drilling and stand up to the single-minded and ecologically harmful greed of corporate interests.

Buoyed by over five million Arctic Defenders, the Greenpeace activists put themselves between the oil tanker Mikhail Ulyanov – a 258-meter long monster whose wake stretches all the way back to thePrirazlomanaya oil platform – and the port.

The Ulyanov's hold contains the first oil to be produced by the Gazprom-owned arctic drilling rig. A rig which I and Greenpeace know intimately. Not too long ago, seven of the activists arrested for today's peaceful protest were the very same people who spent two months in a Russian pris... Read more >

In the lead-up to the World Cup and following a trip to Brazil in March, I wrote to President Dilma Rousseff, asking her to welcome and embrace the protests in Brazil as an opportunity to build a more just, diverse and free society. 

While in Brazil I met with representatives from Amnesty International, Article 19 and Conectas Human Rights. They expressed concerns about the escalating violence on Brazilian streets and how this is being used as an excuse to fast track the approval of bills within the Brazilian Congress which restrain Brazilian democratic rights and tend to increase the criminalization of social movements.

Street protests in Brazil started in June 2013, mainly due to bus fares, but rapidly expanded to cover other issues - such as the lack of proper education, sanitation and... Read more >