Law: Anthropological Aspects

Sally E. Merry; Matthew C. Canfield

doi:10.1016/B978-0-08-097086-8.12101-4

Law: Anthropological Aspects

Sally E. Merry, Matthew C. Canfield

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Chapter

Abstract

Anthropologists approach law as a form of normative ordering that includes rules and processes. The anthropology of law has evolved significantly from viewing law as a measure of civilization and savagery to understanding law as an emergent cultural feature and form of power. Contemporary anthropologists investigate law ethnographically, by looking at disputes in spaces that lack formal legal institutions and codified law, as well as in the institutional sites where law is produced. Plural legal orders, each invested with particular modes of authority, are seen as a feature of all societies. With the growth of globalization and transnational law, anthropology has extended its scope to explore the dialectical interaction between these multiscalar forms of law.

Original language	English (US)
Title of host publication	International Encyclopedia of the Social & Behavioral Sciences: Second Edition
Publisher	Elsevier Inc.
Pages	535-541
Number of pages	7
ISBN (Electronic)	9780080970875
ISBN (Print)	9780080970868
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-08-097086-8.12101-4
State	Published - Mar 26 2015

Keywords

Anthropology
Colonialism
Disputing
Human rights
Law and society
Legal consciousness
Legal culture
Legal pluralism
Rule of law
Sociolegal studies
Transitional justice

ASJC Scopus subject areas

Social Sciences(all)

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10.1016/B978-0-08-097086-8.12101-4

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Merry, S. E., & Canfield, M. C. (2015). Law: Anthropological Aspects. In International Encyclopedia of the Social & Behavioral Sciences: Second Edition (pp. 535-541). Elsevier Inc.. https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-08-097086-8.12101-4

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