The non-cooperation with the institutional authorities constitutes a powerful resistance weapon when it comes to undermining the authority of the nation-state (Rendón Corona, 2011: 79). This theory is informed in the works of Reece Jones (2012) and Frederick Mayer (2014), who point at bureaucracy and institutionalism as pillars of the nation-state and understand individuals as “embedded in institutions that constrain their choice” (Mayer, 2014: 37). In this article, I will examine the short stories “Odiar el Verano” (Hating Summer) (2013) by Gleyvis Coro Montanet, and “The American Embassy” (2009) by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. More specifically, I base myself on Douglas North’s concept of formal institutional constraints, that is, “rules, laws and constitutions,” (North, 1994: 360) to support the argument that these characters challenge formal institutions for the purpose of expressing a different point of view to that of the nation-state. I suggest that these two short stories depict an unsuccessful dialogue between the individual and the administration, recognizing the former’s challenge to institutions as an act of empowerment that provides citizen with a voice, since the non-cooperation with the institutional authorities represents one of the most striking features of Gandhi’s passive resistance (Rendón Corona, 2011: 79). By refusing to dance to bureaucracy’s tune and confronting security guards, these characters break with the implicit collaboration with the State by deciding to stop complying with its administration, for the authority of the State finds its expression in juridical codes and institutional organizations (Weber, 1991; Jones, 2012; Mayer, 2014). Therefore, this comparative analysis points to these literary accounts as a revealing point of view on the lack of recognition that many asylum seekers and displaced individuals experience on behalf of some national institutions.