stubborn (as in resistant to control or authority) adj.: refractory

Intractable debt, stubborn state needs, whimsical and refractory legislators, a staggering economy, all stirred in a mix of double binds on the issue of taxation, surely will try even [the] considerable talents and energy [of California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger]. (Herbert Gold, He Came, He Saw, He Compromised: The Further Adventures of Arnold S., Alpha Male, The Sacramento Bee, 12/28/2003, p. E1.)

This word, when used in the above sense, can also be a synonym for disobedient, uncontrollable or unmanageable.