The first collection of its kind, this book explores the difficult challenges that face any government as it determines when to treat dissent--as expressed in opinion or action--as legitimate political behavior and when to regard it as a threat to individuals and society. The readings, by leading North American scholars, examine an array of subjects including dissent and national security, the concept of subversion and its implications, the limits of civil disobedience, the FBI and dissent in the United States, dissent and the state in both Eastern Europe and Latin America, the Italian Communist Party and dissent in Italy, left-wing dissent in Canada, the far right in Canada, and dissent in Quebec.