Energy infrastructure conflicts often reflect fundamental disagreements which cannot be resolved by merely designing better governance processes. They pose complex systemic questions related to justice and do so often with a global reach. This article discusses how social movements using civil disobedience challenge democratic procedures related to energy transitions. We concentrate on justifications of civil disobedience through a case study of Ende Gelände – a climate justice alliance operating mainly in Germany – and its contestation of coal mining. The results reflect the tension between the right to resistance, the demands of liberal democracy and other aspects of democratic legitimation.

能源基础设施冲突往往反映根本分歧，仅靠设计更好的治理流程无法解决这些分歧。它们提出了与正义相关的复杂系统性问题，并且通常具有全球影响力。本文讨论了使用公民不服从的社会运动如何挑战与能源转型相关的民主程序。我们通过Ende Gelände（一个主要在德国运营的气候正义联盟）的案例研究及其对煤矿开采的争论，专注于公民不服从的正当性。结果反映了抵抗权、自由民主的要求和民主合法化的其他方面之间的紧张关系。