Joshua Braver: Navigating the Gray

All work is semi-autobiographical. So it makes sense that Joshua Braver, who had a rebellious streak in junior high, would explore the idea of rule-breaking in his scholarship. In 2023, Braver wrote “We, the Mediated People: Popular Constitution-Making in Contemporary South America,” published by Oxford University Press, in which he examined the perils and promises of illegal constitution-making by “the people."

This summer, he published “Disobeying Lawful But Unethical Orders in the Army.” “This paper examines three competing answers to the question of when an officer should disobey a lawful but unethical order — unethical in the sense that it violates their professional responsibilities,” explained Braver. In this Q&A, Braver discusses his research, the delicate art of principled disobedience within legal and ethical frameworks, and how the tension between legal authority and moral legitimacy threads through both projects.