This open access book pays homage to Reza Banakar, who passed away in August 2020, exploring the many different areas of socio-legal research that he worked on and influenced. It begins with a summary of his career and explains how he sparked a debate on the identity and aims of legal sociology.
The book is then split into 5 sections:
- Theory, including chapters on normativity and the stepchild controversy;
- Methods and interdisciplinarity, illustrating how Banakar encouraged socio-legal scholars to push the boundaries of existing socio-legal knowledge through interdisciplinary imagination and methodological flexibility;
- Legal culture, with particular focus on Iran - 2 areas of special interest for Banakar;
- Law and science, covering topics such as human rights, the right to life, and the COVID-19 pandemic; and
- Applied sociology of law, inspired by Banakar's engagement with empirical research and case studies.
As well as honouring Reza Banakar's memory and unique thinking, the book aims to advance the sociology of law by demonstrating the interconnectedness of the legal and the social from a broad range of perspectives.
The eBook editions of this book are available open access under a CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 licence on bloomsburycollections.com. Open access was funded by Lund University Libraries.
Author(s): Håkan Hydén, Roger Cotterrell, Ulrike Schultz
Series: Oñati International Series in Law and Society
Publisher: Hart Publishing
Year: 2023
Language: English
Pages: 494
City: Oxford
Preface
Contents
Notes on Contributors
PART I: INTRODUCTION AND BIOGRAPHY
1. Introduction
Part I: Introduction and Biography
Part II: Sociology of Law Theory, Legal Pluralism and Legal Theory
Part III: Sociology of Law Methods and Interdisciplinarity
Part IV: Comparative Legal Cultures
Part V: Sociology of Law as Science
Part VI: Applied Sociology of Law
References
2. Bringing the Social and the Legal Together: An Overview of Reza Banakar's Sociology of Law
I. Introduction
II. Meta-theoretical Efforts and Diagnoses of the Sociology of Law
III. Theory and Methodology in Socio-legal Research
IV. Case Studies and Empirical Interests
V. Concluding Remarks
References
Other Non-referenced Publications
3. Engaging with Reza Banakar
I. Intellectual Contributions
II. Themes and Questions
III. Conclusion
References
PART II: SOCIOLOGY OF LAW THEORY, LEGAL PLURALISM AND LEGAL THEORY
4. The Place of a Stepchild: Notes on the Establishment of Modern Sociology of Law
References
5. The Stepchild Controversy: Unfortunate Dichotomies in Socio-Legal Theory
I. Introduction
II. The Controversy: Recapitulation
III. Problematic Dichotomies in the Controversy
IV. Banakar's Insistence on the Law-Society Dichotomy
V. The Meta-Theoretical Perspective of Critical Realism
VI. Law, Society, and Critical Realism
VII. Looking Forth: Beyond Dichotomies
VIII. Conclusion
References
6. Normativity as the Source of Norms
I. Introduction
II. Types of Norms
III. What is Normativity?
IV. How Do Norms Originate?
V. In Search of Normativity
VI. Conclusions
References
7. On the Relationship between Normative Pluralism and Justice after Multiculturalism
I. An Imaginary Conversation with Reza Banakar
II. Normative Pluralism, Social Embeddedness, and the Double Movement of Law in Modernity
III. Discontents of Cultural Citizenship
IV. In Quest of Justice in Plural Normative Orders
References
8. Legal Pluralism and the Army: Legal Sociology as Military Sociology
I. Introduction
II. Violence and Pluralism
III. War, Legal Codification and Constitutional Citizenship
IV. Multiple Imperialisms
V. Conclusion: Conflict Theory and the Dialectical Limits of Pluralism
References
9. Corporate Strategies within a Transnational Regulatory Field
I. Introduction
II. The Field of Corporate Regulation and the Legal Pluralistic Reality
III. The Companies
IV. Invoking Local Laws
V. Corruption Regulation – A Transnational Field
VI. Violations of International Law, Universal Jurisdiction and National Law
VII. Concluding Discussion
References
10. Corporate Governance, Soft Law, and Corporate Social Responsibility: Some Legal Theoretical Contributions
I. Background
II. Corporate Lawyers as 'Pathetic Dots'
III. Soft Law as the Preferred Type of Regulatory Tool
IV. Can Actors Other Than the Shareholders Automatically Claim Legal Rights against the Company?
V. Conclusion
References
11. Reflections on Law, Religion, and Technology: Legal Mobilisation in the Area of Egyptian Paternity Law
I. Introduction
II. The Role of Religion in Egyptian Personal Status Law
III. Summary and Conclusion
References
PART III: SOCIOLOGY OF LAW METHODS AND INTERDISCIPLINARITY
12. Knowledge and Opinion about Law – The Importance of Law-related Education
I. Knowledge and Opinion about Law – The Importance of Law-related Education
II. Plans for a Project on Knowledge and Opinion about Law/Legal Consciousness
III. KoL and Legal Consciousness – What Are We Talking About?
IV. The 'Old' KoL Research
V. KoL Research in Germany
VI. Gender Differences in Knowledge and Opinion about Law
VII. KoL in Migrant Communities
VIII. Teaching KoL to Young People
IX. National Differences in KoL
References
13. Rights Consciousness in Hungary. What is Behind the Numbers? Lessons of a Focus Group Study
I. Introduction
II. Starting Points and Methodology
III. Key Findings
IV. Concluding Remarks
References
14. In Conversation with Reza: Theory and Method in Socio-Legal Research
I. Introduction
II. Setting out the Argument
III. The Theory Data Interface
IV. Concluding Thoughts: The Debate Continues
References
15. 'The Light in the Tunnel Can Be a Train': About Kafkaesque Double Thoughts
I. Introduction
II. Law and Literature. A Socio-Legal Perspective
III. Banakar Reads Kafka: Some Remarks
IV. Standing 'Before the Law': Some Socio-Legal Comments
V. The Stories of the Law, the Law of the Stories
VI. The Light
VII. Searching for Heimat
References
16. Socio-Legal Agency in Late Modernity – Reappreciating the Relationship between Normativity and Sociology of Law
I. Introduction
II. An Ideological Objective for the Sociology of Law
III. Bridging between Law and Sociology
References
17. The Quest for Scientific Methods: Sociology of Law, Jurimetrics and Legal Informatics
I. Introduction
II. Starting Points
III. Formative Years
IV. Jurimetrics
V. A Different Turn – Legal Informatics
VI. Separation, Integration or Downfall?
References
18. Minding the 'Gap' Problem: The Relevance of Combining Top-down and Bottom-up Approaches to the Study of Law's Role in Everyday Life
I. Introduction
II. Employment Case Handling as a Practice Case
III. Combining Methodological Approaches to the Study of Law's Role in Everyday Life
IV. Why Should We Mind the Gap? Reflections on the Relevance of Combining Methodologies
References
19. Doing Fieldwork in Istanbul Courts: Challenges and Strategies
I. Introduction
II. Access to the Field
III. Access Revisited
References
PART IV: COMPARATIVE LEGAL CULTURES
20. Legal Culture as an Approach to the Study of Law in Russian Society
I. Introduction
II. Legal Culture as an Approach
III. Exploring the Russian Socio-legal Space through the Legal Culture Lens
IV. Legal Formalism and its Consequences
V. Administerial Trials
VI. Conclusion
References
21. Flexible Structures: Using the Legal Culture Concept to Study the Law of Society
I. Using Banakar in Order to Read Banakar
II. The Research Steps on Reckless Driving
III. The Flexibility of Research Design and the Role of the Concept of Legal Culture
IV. Beyond the Duplicity of Legal Culture
V. Discerning Legal Culture by Means of Institutionalisation Processes
References
22. Lawyers and Drivers: On Reading Two Works of Reza Banakar
I. Introduction
II. Law in Authoritarian Societies
III. The Language of Law
IV. Law in the Automotive Society
V. The Veiled and the Unveiled
VI. Laws and Norms
References
23. Traffic Justice: Law and Society on the Roads of Iran and the Netherlands
I. Introduction
II. Traffic Research
III. Law and Society on the Roads of Iran
IV. Law and Society on the Roads of the Netherlands
V. Discussion: Why Do People Follow or Ignore the Law?
VI. Conclusion
References
24. The Cancer of the Law in the Islamic Republic of Iran: Reflections on the Iranian Anti-Israel Law of 2020
I. Introduction
II. Law between Norms and Values
III. Iran's Anti-Israel Law
IV. Conditions and Consequences
V. The Challenges of Culture and Legal Culture
References
25. Revolutions and Legal Cultures. Perspectives and Reflections
I. Introduction
II. On Revolutions – Causes and Consequences
III. The French Revolution – New Institutions and New Legal Culture
IV. Non-European Influences and Contributions by an Elite Individual
V. The Russian Revolution
VI. 1968 Cultural Revolution in China and 1979 Islamic Revolution in Iran
VII. Harold Berman – Law and Revolution – and the End of an Era
VIII. 1989: The 'Neoliberal Cultural Revolution' and the 'Dilemma of Law'
References
PART V: SOCIOLOGY OF LAW AS SCIENCE
26. Reza Banakar and the Quest for a Sociology of Law
I. Introduction
II. Taking Sociology of Law Seriously
III. The Turn to Methodology
IV. The Empirical Turn – New Empirical Inquiries
V. Conclusion
References
27. Governing through Covid Indicators
I. Introduction
II. The Law of the Indicator
III. The Role of Covid Indicators in Assessing and Producing Compliance
IV. Comparison and Control
References
28. Safe but not Secure? Risk Management, Communication and Preparedness for a Pandemic in Aviation
I. Introduction
II. Risk Management in Aviation – Regulating Safety and Security
III. International and Regional Cross-sectorial Risk Management – CAPSCA and RAGIDA
IV. The Availability Heuristic – The Writing on the Wall for Effective Risk-based Regulation?
V. Relations of Definition of Risk – A Problem of Risk Communication?
VI. Concluding Discussion
References
29. The Interlegal Evocation of Peace in Colombia
I. Introduction
II. The Right to Life
III. Life is Sacred
IV. Anonymous Auras
V. Concluding Remarks
References
PART VI: APPLIED SOCIOLOGY OF LAW
30. Trade Union Solidarity and the Issue of Minimum Wage Regulation in the EU
I. Introduction
II. The Concept of Solidarity
III. Understanding Trade Union Solidarity by Studying Communication
IV. Swedish Trade Unions, Solidarity and EU Minimum Wage
V. Concluding Remarks
References
31. Constitutional Imaginaries: A Socio-legal Perspective of Political and Societal Constitutions
I. Introduction
II. Philosophy and Sociology of Imaginaries
III. Societal Power of Imaginaries and the Paradox of Value Legitimation
IV. The Social Imaginary of Political Constitution: beyond the Unity of Topos-Ethnos-Nomos
V. Imaginaries and Societal Constitutionalism: a Theoretical Perspective
VI. Concluding Remarks: Too Much Potentia, Too Little Auctoritas in Global Societal Constitutionalism
References
32. Public Sentiments on Justice, Legal Consciousness, and the Study of Marginalised Groups
I. Introduction
II. Public Sentiments, Social Justice and Prisoners' Children
III. Legal Consciousness and Sentiments on Justice – Definitions and Schools of Research
IV. Understanding Prisoners' Families – Their Legal Consciousness and Their Sentiments on Justice
V. From the Uninformed to the Informed Sense of Justice – The Nordic Studies
VI. Giving Marginalised Groups and Their Sentiments on Justice Representation
VII. Victims of Crime and the Families of Prisoners
VIII. Marginalised Groups, Sentiments on Justice and Human Rights
References
33. Challenging Legal Orthodoxy: New Orientations in Space and Time in Discourses Over Land Tenure
I. Introduction
II. Land as a Lens for Exploring Notions of Space and Time?
III. Contextualising Law: How Land is Dealt with in Botswana
IV. Contemporary and International Approaches to Land Tenure
V. Botswana's Response to Global Approaches to Land Tenure
VI. The Role of Space and Time in Constructing Land Tenure Relations
VII. Dimensions of Time and Space as they Play Out in Botswana
VIII. Concluding Observations
References
34. Sexual Violence, Standard(s) of Proof, and Arbitrariness in Judicial Decision-Making
I. Introduction
II. Legal Constructions of the Standard(s) of Proof
III. Institutional Application of the Standard(s) of Proof
IV. Not Guilty of a Crime but Legally Responsible for the Consequences
V. Experiences of the Standards of Proof
VI. Summary and Concluding Remarks
References
Index
