Conscientious objection is a weapon of protest. It is not, however, a collective protest. It is an individual, but socially informed, act of resistance. It requires no organization, no mobilization of others, no group process. It is an action undertaken by single individuals albeit, generally, individuals who are part of self-conscious groups of war protesters.

Conscientious objection bears an obvious family resemblance to civil disobedience. Where it differs is that it has become a legal act of resistance. It was not always, so, however. Historically the term referred to opposition to war and conscription on grounds of conscience whether one consequently received a legal exemption from military service or whether one resisted the law by refusing to be conscripted.