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This book outlines a new taxonomy of the world's legal systems, combining the methods, principles and topics of legal history, legal theory and legal anthropology. This new taxonomy incorporates not only the existing legal systems of our contemporary world but also includes the historical legal systems of ancient Greece, Rome, Egypt and the Persian Empire. Legal systems based on religious ideologies like Hindu, Islamic, and Jewish laws also found their way into this truly global taxonomy. In addition, the tribal laws of Asia and Africa are also considered. The taxonomy is based on the sources of law and their legitimation in various systems, which are political law making, legal interpretation, or social consensus.
The main argument of the book is organised around these three categories and their far-reaching implications in various systems of law. Showing the different ways legal systems interact with each other, the book introduces new categories like inter-system legal pluralism and composite systems. The final chapter makes use of network theories to explain how various legal systems operate with the help of their axioms and anthropologies.
