Legal Pluralism

What is the central theme in the study of law and society?

Legal pluralism

Define legal pluralism

When two or more legal systems co-exist in the same social field; co-existence of legal orders not belonging to a single system.

Why is virtually every society legally plural?

Because societies often contain overlapping legal orders and normative systems.

How can legal pluralism be thought of in terms of cultural boundaries?

As the transfer of whole legal systems across cultural boundaries.

How did legal pluralism emerge historically?

From European colonization, where new legal systems overlapped with Indigenous ones; studied by 20th-century anthropologists.

What does legal pluralism teach us?

Multiple normative orders exist and interact dialectically (laws "speak" to one another).

What is “new legal pluralism”?

A concept shift recognizing legal pluralism as non-hierarchical, bidirectional, and including many non-official normative orderings.

How is new legal pluralism different from earlier views?

Earlier views emphasized state law penetrating Indigenous systems, while new legal pluralism sees law as everywhere, not just in colonized societies.

What are examples of non-state lawmaking/normative orderings?

Tribal and ethnic enclaves, religious organizations, corporate bylaws, social customs, private regulatory bodies.

Can microsocieties sometimes override state law?

yes, in some cases microsocieties can trump state law.

Key concept: Legal pluralism (state law) vs. new legal pluralism — what’s the difference?

Legal pluralism = focus on state law alongside others; New legal pluralism = more expansive, including nonofficial and everyday normative orderings.