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Elgar Encyclopedia of the Sociology of Law

Edited by: Ulrike Schultz, Håkan Hydén, Peter Scharff Smith

ISBN13: 9781035333158
To be Published: January 2027
Publisher: Edward Elgar Publishing Limited
Country of Publication: UK
Format: Hardback
Price: £300.00





The Elgar Encyclopedia of the Sociology of Law is a landmark reference work that provides a clear, accessible, and authoritative guide to the core themes of the field. Contributions from renowned specialists present a comprehensive map of this dynamic and rapidly expanding discipline.

Interdisciplinary in scope, this Encyclopedia explores the ongoing theoretical and methodological developments within the sociology of law, adopting insights from law, sociology, linguistics, philosophy, political science, anthropology, criminology and cultural studies. Chapters foster cross-disciplinary and international dialogue while deepening collective understanding of how law shapes social relations. Across 34 sections divided by theme, issues of legal change, culture and mobilisation are addressed and examined through a geographical lens.

An essential read for scholars and students in sociology, socio-legal studies and academic law, this Encyclopedia serves as a structured guide to key concepts, debates, and methodologies. Practitioners and policymakers concerned with law reform, governance, human rights, and social regulation will also find it a valuable resource for understanding how legal systems interact with social structures and processes.

Key Features:

  • 265 concise entries
  • Grounded in empirical studies
  • Interdisciplinary engagement
  • Global perspectives and plural voices
  • Presents key theories and contemporary debates
  • Commitment to equality, social justice and inclusivity

Subjects:
Law and Society
Contents:
Introduction to the Encyclopedia of the Sociology of Law (ESoL)
Ulrike Schultz, Håkan Hyden and Peter Scharff Smith

PART I HISTORY, THEORY AND LEGAL SYSTEMS
Section 1 Foundations
1. Introduction: foundations 3
Pierre Guibentif
2. Sociology of law and general sociology 6
Jacques Commaille
3. Legal culture and the foundations of sociology of law 8
Vincenzo Ferrari
4. Philosophy of law 11
José M. Sauca
5. Philosophy of law and sociology of law in Italy 14
Barbara Giovanna Bello
6. Critique du droit and critical legal studies 17
Martine Kaluszynski
7. Sociology of law as norm science 19
Håkan Hydén
8. Law as a social system 22
Germano Schwartz
9. Critical rhetorical analysis of law 24
Juan J. Garcia-Blesa

Section 2 The history of the sociology of law
10. Introduction: the history of the sociology of law 27
Christian Boulanger and Pierre Guibentif
11. Historiography of sociology of law 30
Christian Boulanger
12. International institutionalization of sociology of law 32
Pierre Guibentif
13. Africa – interdisciplinarity and pluralism from colonialism to post-colonialism 35
João Pedroso and José Octávio Serra Van-Dúnem
14. Sociology of law in Southeast Asia 37
Melissa Crouch
15. Sociology of law in Latin America 39
Pablo Leandro Ciocchini
16. Sociology of law and the law and society movement 41
Lawrence M. Friedman
17. History of the sociology of law in East Asia 44
Masayuki Murayama
18. Sociological thought in Islamic (family) law 46
Monika Lindbekk
19. Sociology of law in Southeastern Europe 49
Samir Forić
20. Sociology of law in East Central Europe 51
Naum Trajanovski and Marta Bucholc
21. Sociology of law in Western Europe 53
Vincenzo Ferrari

Section 3 Theoretical concepts of sociology of law
22. Introduction: theoretical concepts of sociology of law 56
Jiří Přibáň
23. Sociological jurisprudence 58
Roger Cotterrell
24. Cultural theory and law 61
Andrea Kretschmann and Aldo Legnaro
25. The sociological concept of law 64
Jiří Přibáň
26. Sociology of the rule of law 66
Grażyna Skąpska
27. Theoretical perspectives on legal history 68
Sharon Thompson and Russell Sandberg
28. Social order, legal systems and medicine 70
Robert Dingwall

Section 4 Social and legal systems
29. Introduction: social and legal systems 73
Alfons Bora
30. The functional system of law 74
Alfons Bora
31. Law, governance and regulation 77
Inger Johanne Sand
32. Law in the welfare state 80
Stine Piilgaard Porner Nielsen
33. Noncompliance 83
Edvaldo Moita
34. Dedifferentiation 86
Santiago Gabriel Calise

Section 5 Socio-legal research
35. Introduction: socio-legal research 90
Sharyn Roach Anleu
36. Shadowing 92
Stina Bergman Blix and Alessandra Minissale
37. Participatory research 94
Julieta Marotta
38. Legal cases as data 96
Valéria Kiss
39. Interviews 98
Santiago Abel Amietta
40. Surveys in socio-legal studies 100
Paula Casaleiro and João Paulo Dias
41. Race and ethnicity data: categories for and methods of court collection 103
Kathryn J. Genthon and Jennifer K. Elek
42. How documents matter 105
Irene van Oorschot
43. Ethnography 107
Leticia Barrera

PART II NATION, POLITICS AND THE RULE OF LAW
Section 6 Society, nation, state, constitutions
44. Introduction: society, nation, state, constitutions 111
Jiří Přibáň
45. Constitutional imaginaries 112
Jiří Přibáň
46. Sociology of constitutions 115
Chris Thornhill
47. State, transnational constitution, and populism 118
Paul Blokker
48. Postnational society and its law 121
Paul Linden-Retek
49. Citizenship from the perspective of global constitutionalism 124
Patrícia Jerónimo
50. Democracy, state-building and constitutional transformation 126
Karin van Marle

Section 7 Democracy, sociology of rule of law
51. Introduction: democracy, sociology of rule of law 130
Stefanie Lemke
52. Rule of law in the United States 132
Richard L. Abel
53. Rethinking judicial independence in Argentina and Paraguay 135
Andrea Castagnola
54. Rule of law in India 137
Pedro Rubim Borges Fortes and Pritam Baruah
55. Legitimation by procedure 139
Stefan Machura
56. Judicial appointments and reforms in post-Soviet Central and Eastern Europe 142
Merike Ristikivi and Katre Luhamaa
57. Court-packing in the United States 145
Mark Tushnet

Section 8 Law and politics
58. Introduction: law and politics 148
Angélica Cuéllar Vázquez
59. Politics and law: the paths of mistrust 149
Karina Ansolabehere
60. The legal complex 152
Hans Petter Graver
61. Judicial autonomy 154
Josafat Cortez Salinas
62. Independence and politicisation of the public prosecutor’s office in Europe 156
María Clara da Cunha Calheiros de Carvalho
63. Violence and insecurity 158
Christian Ascensio Martínez
64. Lawfare 160
Angélica Cuéllar Vázquez

Section 9 Law and political economy
65. Introduction: law and political economy 163
Victoria Barnes and Zi Yang
66. Law, morality and economics 165
Zi Yang and Simon Lee
67. The law and the state 167
Philip Bajon
68. Multinational enterprises 169
Amanda Perry-Kessaris
69. Business and human rights 171
Ciara Hackett
70. Law and political economy 174
Anna Chadwick and Ioannis Kampourakis
71. Different modes in understanding history of commercial law 176
Victoria Barnes and Sally Wheeler
72. Law and money 178
Monica Laura Vessio
73. Law and market power in the digital economy 180
Jing Wang

PART III GLOBALIZATION, MIGRATION AND INTERNATIONAL LAW
Section 10 Globalization, crisis and conflict
74. Introduction: globalization, crisis and conflict 184
Kristin Bergtora Sandvik and Peter Scharff Smith
75. Deglobalization 186
Kristin Bergtora Sandvik and Peter Scharff Smith
76. Global crises and international law 189
Giorgia Carratta and Saverio Di Benedetto
77. International law, war and conflict 192
Sine Vorland Holen and Kristin Bergtora Sandvik
78. Pandemics and law: COVID-19 195
Hans Petter Graver, Kristin Bergtora Sandvik and Peter Scharff Smith
79. Conspiracy theory law (pseudolaw) 198
Andrea Kretschmann
80. The state of exception 201
Kjersti Lohne

Section 11 Transnationalism and migration
81. Introduction: transnationalism and migration 204
Anna Lundberg and Kyriaki Topidi
82. Forced migration and refugees 206
Maja Janmyr
83. Transnationalism 209
Kyriaki Topidi
84. Social cohesion, conviviality and legal pluralism 212
Christa Rautenbach
85. Rights and citizenship 216
Anna Lundberg

Section 12 Human rights
86. Introduction: human rights 220
Peter Scharff Smith and Pedro Rubim Borges Fortes
87. International human rights norms 223
Camilo Umaña
88. Universality and human rights 226
Steven L.B. Jensen and Marie Juul Petersen
89. On human rights culture 229
Lawrence M. Friedman
90. Human rights and intercultural dialogues 231
Antonio Carlos Wolkmer
91. Human rights organizations 234
James (Jim) Cavallaro
92. Human rights in African courts: challenges and opportunities in implementation 237
Elisa Samuel Boerekamp
93. Human rights in Asia 240
Pedro Rubim Borges Fortes
94. Human rights in Europe 243
João Pedroso and David Vila-Viñas
95. Human rights in Latin America 246
Nelson Camilo Sánchez
96. Sociology of human rights in North America 249
Nelson Camilo Sánchez

Section 13 Sociology of European Union law
97. Introduction: sociology of European Union law 252
Dagmar Schiek
98. A European society by economic integration? 254
Sabine Frerichs and Fernando Losada
99. Sociology of European courts 258
Audrey M. Plan
100. Sociology of EU law and integration through rights 261
Dagmar Schiek

Section 14 Law, space and the environment
101. Introduction: law, space and the environment 265
Lucas Konzen
102. Law and urban space 267
Thomas Coggin
103. Public property 270
Antonio Azuela
104. Law and environment 273
Bettina Lange
105. Critical legal geography 276
Lucas Konzen
106. Climate change and justice 279
Paulina Rundel

PART IV LEGAL PLURALISM AND COLONIALISM
Section 15 Legal pluralism and anthropology of law
107. Introduction: legal pluralism and anthropology of law 284
Martin Ramstedt
108. Legal pluralism as epistemological disobedience in the postcolony 288
Sara Araújo
109. A plurality of legal pluralisms: religious courts in Israel 291
Ido Shahar
110. Judicial pluralism in Indonesia 294
Melissa Crouch
111. Pluriversal law: Kurdish diasporic practices of conflictresolution 296
Cansu Bostan
112. Safety in plural normative orders: the case of aviation 300
John Woodlock

Section 16 Colonialism and law
113. Introduction: colonialism and law 305
Sara Dezalay
114. Women lawyers in the French empire: how useful are decolonial feminisms in considering their lives and commitments? 307
Florence Renucci
115. Colonial implications on property rights in Pakistan 310
Sabeen Kazmi
116. Decolonial sociology of law – Roma in Europe 312
Marc H. Vallés and Ida Nafstad
117. Legal brokerage: law, capitalism and the green transition in Africa 315
Sara Dezalay

Section 17 Regional aspects and customary law
118. Introduction: regional aspects and customary law 319
Aderonke E. Adegbite
119. African indigenous judicial systems: a comprehensive overview 322
Aderonke E. Adegbite
120. Corruption, colonialism, and social interactions in Africa: a relational model 325
Chukwuemeka C. Nwabuzor
121. A strategic approach towards restorative justice in international criminal justice 327
Chianaraekpere Ike
122. The sociology of customary law 330
Anthony C. Diala
123. Sociology of law and Islamic law – a missed opportunity? 333
Reik Kirchhof
124. Legal pluralism as a colonial legacy in postcolonial African countries 335
Maria Rita Bartolomei
125. Legal systems in East Asia 337
Hideaki Irie
126. Law and indigenous land rights in Indonesia 339
Yance Arizona

PART V LEGAL CULTURE
Section 18 Legal change in postcommunist states
127. Introduction: legal change in post-communist states 344
Mihaela Şerban
128. Socio-legal changes in Bosnia and Herzegovina after socialism 346
Samir Forić
129. Socio-legal evaluation of legal change in post-communist Czechoslovakia and the Czech Republic 349
Jan Kober
130. Sociolegal changes in postcommunist Hungary 352
Mihaela Şerban
131. Transformations of the Polish legal system after 1989 355
Kaja Gadowska and Michał Kaczmarczyk
132. Sociolegal changes in postcommunist Romania 358
Mihaela Şerban
133. Legal change in post-Soviet Russia: socio-legal overview 361
Timur Bocharov
134. Socio-legal changes in Serbia 364
Danilo Vuković

Section 19 Legal culture
135. Introduction: legal culture 368
Agnieszka Kubal
136. Comparative law and legal cultures 372
Joxerramon Bengoetxea
137. Legal cultures of nations and states: new epistemologies of original nation perspectives in socio-legal scholarship 375
Hiroshi Fukurai
138. External and internal legal culture 379
Lena Rose
139. Legal cultures and cultural relativism 382
Patrícia Jerónimo
140. Intercultural analysis of law 385
Juan J. Garcia-Blesa
141. The impact of culture as a societal phenomenon on the EU’s supporting cultural competence 388
Sarah Schoenmaekers
142. Circulation of legal forms in time and space: legal transplants, legal survivals, and legal revivals 390
Rafał Mańko

Section 20 Legal consciousness and knowledge and opinion of law
143. Introduction: legal consciousness and knowledge and opinion of law 394
Balázs Fekete
144. Critical legal consciousness: hegemony, knowledgeability and the sociological imagination 396
Eleanor Kirk
145. Secular legal consciousness: challenging law’s hegemony 400
Erin Jackson
146. Legal alienation 402
Fanni Gyurkó
147. Rights consciousness 405
Balázs Fekete
148. Legal compliance 408
György Gajduschek

Section 21 Law, media and popular culture
149. Introduction: law, media and popular culture 412
Stefan Machura
150. Crime reporting 414
Stefan Machura
151. Folk devils 416
Ciara Molloy
152. Law in music 418
John Cunningham
153. Law on television 421
Ferdinando Spina
154. ‘In short’: women lawyers in short stories, examples from the United States and Europe 424
Anna Chronopoulou
155. Juries in popular culture 426
Nancy S. Marder
156. Depictions of war crimes in film 428
Ann Ching
157. Sports rules/laws 430
Guy Osborn and Mark James

PART VI  CRIME AND PUNISHMENT
Section 22 Criminal procedure and punishment
158. Introduction: criminal procedure and punishment 434
Pablo Leandro Ciocchini
159. Socio-legal studies of criminal courts 436
Pablo Leandro Ciocchini
160. Prosecutorial discretion 438
Diego Tuesta Reategui
161. Victims’ needs and rights in the penal system: beyond the Procrustean sense of justice 441
Gema Varona Martinez
162. Sociology of international criminal justice 445
Kjersti Lohne
163. Imprisonment and the sociology of punishment 447
Peter Scharff Smith
164. Restorative justice 450
Kirstin Drenkhahn
165. Transitional justice: socio-legal aspects 452
Stephan Parmentier
166. The architecture of law 455
Aldo Legnaro

Section 23 Crime and criminalization
167. Introduction: crime and criminalization 459
Andrea Kretschmann and Aldo Legnaro
168. Crime, social control, and social marginality 461
Nicole Bögelein
169. Crimes of the powerful 464
María Laura Böhm
170. Contemporary tendencies of policing and crime prevention 467
Laila Abdul-Rahman
171. Penal abolitionism: the example of the police 470
Fabien Jobard
172. Theories on crime and criminalization 473
Andrea Kretschmann and Aldo Legnaro
173. Victimology 476
Anja Emilie Kruse

PART VII THE LEGAL PROFESSION, COURTS AND ACCESS TO JUSTICE
Section 24 The legal profession
174. Introduction: the legal profession 479
Nina Holvast, Victoria Barnes and Hilary Sommerlad
175. Legal education 481
Rogelio Pérez-Perdomo
176. Europeanisation 483
Tommaso Pavone
177. Judiciary 485
Nina Holvast and Luca Verzelloni
178. Notaries 488
Corinne Delmas
179. Gender and diversity in private law practice 491
Marta Choroszewicz and Fiona Kay
180. Women in the legal profession 493
Margaret Thornton
181. Cause lawyers in global perspective 495
Frank W. Munger
182. Big law 497
Lisa Webley
183. Legal ethics 499
Tamara Butter

Section 25 Courts and procedure
184. Introduction: courts and procedure 502
Luigi Cominelli and Masayuki Murayama
185. Conflict 504
Luigi Cominelli
186. Adjudication and litigation 506
Masayuki Murayama
187. Courts and judges 508
Ferdinando Spina
188. Transnational litigation 510
Manuel A. Gómez
189. Arbitration 512
Florian Grisel
190. Collective litigation 514
Manuel A. Gómez and Magdalena Tulibacka
191. Lay participation in civil trials 517
Jérémy Boulanger-Bonnelly and Valerie P. Hans
192. Procedural justice 519
Cari Hyde-Vaamonde
193. Courts and the judiciary in authoritarian settings 521
Hans Petter Graver
194. Courts, procedure, and behavioral sciences 524
Shozo Ota

Section 26 Access to justice, ADR, legal mobilization
195. Introduction: access to justice, ADR, legal mobilization 528
Markus Ciesielski and Michael Molavi
196. Legal mobilization 529
Michael Molavi
197. Negotiation, mediation, and ADR 531
Carrie Menkel-Meadow
198. Transformative access to justice 533
Markus Ciesielski
199. Strategic lawsuits against public participation (SLAPPs) 535
George Mantzios
200. Legal opportunity structure 538
Carlo Nicoli Aldini
201. Ombuds research 540
Julia Dahlvik
202. Legal expenses insurance 542
Matthias Kilian
203. Legal aid 544
Avrom Sherr

PART VIII LAW AND TECHNOLOGY
Section 27 Digitalization, artificial intelligence and law
204. Introduction: digitalization, artificial intelligence and law 549
Håkan Hydén
205. Different modes of regulation of AI 551
Håkan Hydén
206. Legal indicators and the mathematical turn in law 553
Pedro Rubim Borges Fortes and David Restrepo Amariles
207. Legal algorithms 555
Marc Mölders
208. Digitalization and AI in public administration and public services 557
Julia Dahlvik
209. Sociology of law for humanrobot interaction 559
Laetitia Tanqueray and Stefan Larsson
210. The ethics of social robotics 561
Fatima Kastner

Section 28 Applications of AI and its legal consequences
211. Introduction: applications of AI and its legal consequences 564
Julia Dahlvik
212. Judicial automation: balancing rights protection and capacitybuilding 566
Qiao Cong-rui and Ljubiša Metikoš
213. Online dispute resolution (ODR) 568
Ethan Katsh
214. Applications of AI and its legal consequences 570
Cari Hyde-Vaamonde
215. AI impacts on poverty 572
Michele Estrin Gilman
216. Justice apps 574
Bin Li

PART IX SOCIAL MOVEMENTS AND THE WELFARE STATE
Section 29 Social movements
217. Introduction: social movements 578
Germano Schwartz
218. Sociological theories on social movements and law 580
Germano Schwartz
219. The feminist social movement: the Spanish case 582
Deo Szpiga and Itziar Altuzarra
220. Social movements in South Africa 585
Nico Buitendag
221. Land social movements in Latin America 588
Germán Silva-García
222. Social media and social movements: the March for our Lives and the ‘missing’ gun control movement in the United States. A case study.
591
Alexandre Fleck Soares Brandāo (Alex Fleck)

Section 30 Socio-legal approaches to work relations and labour law
223. Introduction: socio-legal approaches to work relations and labour law 595
Ruth Dukes
224. Exploitation and labour law 598
Francesca Barp
225. Legal pluralism and labour law 600
Emily Rose
226. The juridification of employment relations 602
Eleanor Kirk
227. Migration and race: revisiting contract and status 605
Manoj Dias-Abey
228. Care work and labour law 608
Eva Kocher
229. The civil service 610
Stefan Machura

Section 31 Legal responses to social problems
230. Introduction: legal responses to social problems 613
João Velloso
231. Law and social inequality 614
Tanja Herklotz
232. Caring and the law 617
Kirsten Scheiwe
233. Law and mental health 619
Emmanuelle Bernheim and Emmanuel Nwatu
234. Law and drug policy: governing substances and users 622
Frederico Policarpo and João Velloso
235. Managerial justice 625
Véronique Fortin and João Velloso

PART X GENDER, DIVERSITY AND THE FAMILY
Section 32 Family, children and the law
236. Introduction: family, children and the law 630
Bregje Dijksterhuis and Julieta Marotta
237. Socio-legal studies and family law 632
Mavis Maclean
238. Family: a legal institution not through assignment but social doing 634
Thomas Meysen
239. Socio-legal aspects of surrogacy 636
Milica Vlajić and Mila Đorđević
240. Family mediation and normative plurality 638
Samia Bano and Lisa Webley
241. Court avoidance in family matters 640
Benoit Bastard and Verda Irtis
242. Divorce procedure in China 642
Xin He
243. The care of aging parents 644
Santy Kouwagam
244. Transversal conflicts in families, childhood and adolescence: theory and practice, themes and interdisciplinary approaches 646
Laura N. Lora
245. Family law and economic inequality 648
Emilie Biland
246. Socio-legal perspectives on the social dynamics of inheritance 650
Itziar Alkorta Idiakez and Martin Ramstedt

Section 33 Gender, law and society
247. Introduction: gender, law and society 654
Barbara Giovanna Bello
248. Legal feminisms 657
Rosemary Hunter
249. Equal rights for women and men 659
Ulrike Schultz
250. Gender adjudication 662
Dolores Morondo Taramundi
251. Sex and gender between and beyond the binary 664
Konstanze Plett
252. Gender-based violence: male violence against women 666
Thomas Casadei
253. Gender in common law legal studies 668
Rosemary Auchmuty
254. Gender, globalization and work in India 670
Swethaa S. Ballakrishnen
255. Gender perspectives from South America 673
Paula Pinhal de Carlos
256. Gender, tourism and territory 675
Giovanna Truda
257. Intersectionality 677
Eva Schömer

Section 34 Diversity
258. Introduction: diversity 681
Letizia Mancini
259. Law and classism 682
Anja Böning
260. Law and race 684
Letizia Mancini
261. Religion and law 686
Waheeda Amien
262. Modern disability law 689
Theresia Degener
263. Sexual orientation and law 691
Alexander Sasha Kondakov
264. Queer rights in India 693
Mini Saxena
265. AI and digital justice: diversity by design? 695
Naomi Creutzfeld