Chinese Contributions to Global Normative Pluralism?

Abstract

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Combining the Legal and the Social in Sociology of Law

“…In a very inspiring text, Hellum (2000: 42) identified the typical socio-legal problem as a problem of 'describing and analyzing the normative development situated at the complex interface between law and society -between the established and the emergent'. Hellum (2000), like Petersen (2000), approached the topic from a legal pluralistic perspective, without a sharp disciplinary distinction between law, legal philosophy, legal anthropology and sociology of law. Here, sociology of law's multi-or inter-disciplinarity was seen not as fragmenting but as a something that strengthens the field.…”

“…His second and perhaps even bigger project concerned sociology of law more generally. Somewhat provocatively naming sociology of law a 'stepchild' of its parent-disciplines of law and society , his writings sparked a Nordic debate about the state and character of the sociology of law (see for example Hellum 2000;Mathiesen 1998;Petersen 2000;Sand 2000). Reza, however, did not stop with his diagnosis of the identity crisis of sociology of law but took it upon himself to develop the intellectual tools necessary to solve the crisis.…”

“…Reza believed that sociology of law had to break away from predominant paradigms, most notably structural functionalism, and try to integrate the internal perspective on law with 'non-functionalist' sociological perspectives. Reza's initial article prompted replies from Mathiesen (1998), , , Hellum (2000), Petersen (2000), and Sand (2000), and caused Reza to return in 2001 with some reflections on the debate, as well as with some clarifications in respect to his initial paper . This intellectual discussion, initiated and concluded by Reza, I have chosen to call the Stepchild Controversy.…”