Neil Fligstein and Doug McAdam
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- September 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780199859948
- eISBN:
- 9780199951178
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199859948.001.0001
- Subject:
- Sociology, Social Theory
Finding ways to understand the nature of social change and social order—from political movements to market meltdowns—is one of the enduring problems of social science. This book draws together ...
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Finding ways to understand the nature of social change and social order—from political movements to market meltdowns—is one of the enduring problems of social science. This book draws together far-ranging insights from social movement theory, organizational theory, and economic and political sociology to construct a general theory of social organization and strategic action. This book proposes that social change and social order can be understood through what the book calls strategic action fields. It posits that these fields are the general building blocks of political and economic life, civil society, and the state, and the fundamental form of order in our world today. Similar to Russian dolls, they are nested and connected in a broader environment of almost countless proximate and overlapping fields. Fields are mutually dependent; change in one often triggers change in another. At the core of the theory is an account of how social actors fashion and maintain order in a given field. This sociological theory of action, what they call “social skill,” helps explain what individuals do in strategic action fields to gain cooperation or engage in competition. To demonstrate the breadth of the theory, the book makes its abstract principles concrete through extended case studies of the Civil Rights Movement and the rise and fall of the market for mortgages in the U.S. since the 1960s. The book also provides a “how-to” guide to help others implement the approach and discusses methodological issues.Less
Finding ways to understand the nature of social change and social order—from political movements to market meltdowns—is one of the enduring problems of social science. This book draws together far-ranging insights from social movement theory, organizational theory, and economic and political sociology to construct a general theory of social organization and strategic action. This book proposes that social change and social order can be understood through what the book calls strategic action fields. It posits that these fields are the general building blocks of political and economic life, civil society, and the state, and the fundamental form of order in our world today. Similar to Russian dolls, they are nested and connected in a broader environment of almost countless proximate and overlapping fields. Fields are mutually dependent; change in one often triggers change in another. At the core of the theory is an account of how social actors fashion and maintain order in a given field. This sociological theory of action, what they call “social skill,” helps explain what individuals do in strategic action fields to gain cooperation or engage in competition. To demonstrate the breadth of the theory, the book makes its abstract principles concrete through extended case studies of the Civil Rights Movement and the rise and fall of the market for mortgages in the U.S. since the 1960s. The book also provides a “how-to” guide to help others implement the approach and discusses methodological issues.
BRENT WATERS
- Published in print:
- 2007
- Published Online:
- September 2007
- ISBN:
- 9780199271962
- eISBN:
- 9780191709883
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199271962.003.0008
- Subject:
- Religion, Religion and Society
This chapter explores how the tension between the providential witness of the family and the eschatological witness of the church, as examined in the preceding chapter, should inform a Christian ...
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This chapter explores how the tension between the providential witness of the family and the eschatological witness of the church, as examined in the preceding chapter, should inform a Christian vision of civil community. It is argued that both the family and the church disclose the principal normative characteristics of the social and political ordering of a vindicated creation, namely, that the bonds of human association as well as the foundation of freedom are created, natural, imposed, social, and political. The implications of these characteristics are further developed by focusing on the themes of the gift of social ordering, the relation between destiny and the common good, and, following Oliver O'Donovan, what the nations (should) desire.Less
This chapter explores how the tension between the providential witness of the family and the eschatological witness of the church, as examined in the preceding chapter, should inform a Christian vision of civil community. It is argued that both the family and the church disclose the principal normative characteristics of the social and political ordering of a vindicated creation, namely, that the bonds of human association as well as the foundation of freedom are created, natural, imposed, social, and political. The implications of these characteristics are further developed by focusing on the themes of the gift of social ordering, the relation between destiny and the common good, and, following Oliver O'Donovan, what the nations (should) desire.
Randy E. Barnett
- Published in print:
- 2000
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780198297291
- eISBN:
- 9780191598777
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0198297297.003.0003
- Subject:
- Political Science, Political Theory
Personal and local knowledge can be harnessed by either centralized or decentralized decision‐making processes. Centralized decision‐making works insofar as the decision maker has access to the ...
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Personal and local knowledge can be harnessed by either centralized or decentralized decision‐making processes. Centralized decision‐making works insofar as the decision maker has access to the relevant personal and local knowledge. Since such access is limited, such decision‐making must be limited as well. Decentralizing jurisdiction to individuals and associations who have access to the relevant knowledge permits them to act on the basis of their personal and local knowledge. Requiring that transfers of jurisdiction be consensual, it addresses the ability of individuals and associations to incorporate into their decisions, the personal and local knowledge of others by making possible a meaningful system of resource prices.Less
Personal and local knowledge can be harnessed by either centralized or decentralized decision‐making processes. Centralized decision‐making works insofar as the decision maker has access to the relevant personal and local knowledge. Since such access is limited, such decision‐making must be limited as well. Decentralizing jurisdiction to individuals and associations who have access to the relevant knowledge permits them to act on the basis of their personal and local knowledge. Requiring that transfers of jurisdiction be consensual, it addresses the ability of individuals and associations to incorporate into their decisions, the personal and local knowledge of others by making possible a meaningful system of resource prices.
Catharine Cookson
- Published in print:
- 2001
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780195129441
- eISBN:
- 9780199834105
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/019512944X.001.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, Religion and Society
Religious free exercise conflicts occur when religiously compelled behavior (whether action or inaction) appears to violate a law that contraindicates or even criminalizes such behavior. Fearful of ...
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Religious free exercise conflicts occur when religiously compelled behavior (whether action or inaction) appears to violate a law that contraindicates or even criminalizes such behavior. Fearful of the anarchy of religious conscience, the U.S. Supreme Court opted instead for authoritarianism in this church and state matter: The state's need for civil order is conclusively presumed to be achieved by enforcing uniform obedience to generally applicable laws, and thus legislation must trump the human and constitutional right to religious freedom. Rejecting the Court's unthinking rigorism, the book more appropriately views a free exercise case as a conflict of principles or “goods”: the basic constitutional and human right to freedom of conscience and religious freedom versus the societal good furthered and protected by the legislation. The book recommends an alternative analytical free exercise process grounded within the common law tradition as well as social ethics: casuistry. Casuistical reasoning requires a careful analysis of the particulars and factual context of the case, and relies upon analogies and paradigmatic illustrations to get to the heart of the principles at issue. The book furthermore explores the panoply of theories, self‐understandings, typologies, contexts, and societal constructs at play in free exercise conflicts, and in the final chapters applies casuistry to two free exercise situations, spiritual healing methods applied to children, and ingestion of sacramental peyote in Native American Church rituals.Less
Religious free exercise conflicts occur when religiously compelled behavior (whether action or inaction) appears to violate a law that contraindicates or even criminalizes such behavior. Fearful of the anarchy of religious conscience, the U.S. Supreme Court opted instead for authoritarianism in this church and state matter: The state's need for civil order is conclusively presumed to be achieved by enforcing uniform obedience to generally applicable laws, and thus legislation must trump the human and constitutional right to religious freedom. Rejecting the Court's unthinking rigorism, the book more appropriately views a free exercise case as a conflict of principles or “goods”: the basic constitutional and human right to freedom of conscience and religious freedom versus the societal good furthered and protected by the legislation. The book recommends an alternative analytical free exercise process grounded within the common law tradition as well as social ethics: casuistry. Casuistical reasoning requires a careful analysis of the particulars and factual context of the case, and relies upon analogies and paradigmatic illustrations to get to the heart of the principles at issue. The book furthermore explores the panoply of theories, self‐understandings, typologies, contexts, and societal constructs at play in free exercise conflicts, and in the final chapters applies casuistry to two free exercise situations, spiritual healing methods applied to children, and ingestion of sacramental peyote in Native American Church rituals.
Russell Hardin
- Published in print:
- 1999
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780198290841
- eISBN:
- 9780191599415
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0198290845.003.0001
- Subject:
- Political Science, Political Theory
Theories of liberalism, constitutionalism, and democracy are mutual advantage theories. Liberalism is about arranging institutions to allow all of us to prosper in our own individual ways. Political ...
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Theories of liberalism, constitutionalism, and democracy are mutual advantage theories. Liberalism is about arranging institutions to allow all of us to prosper in our own individual ways. Political liberalism was partly invented in response to religious claims that some ways of believing should be suppressed, and economic liberalism grew and was eventually more or less institutionalized in government policy because it caused all to prosper through the prosperity of each. Constitutionalism works when and only when it serves to coordinate a population on some matters, such as social order, commerce, and national defense that are more important than the issues on which they might differ. Similarly, democracy works only when there are no deeply divisive issues that override the value of order and other very generally advantageous values. The pre‐eminent theorists of mutual advantage are Thomas Hobbes, David Hume, and Adam Smith, although there are many strands of mutual advantage arguments in virtually all of political theory and in the predominant school of economic theory of the past several centuries in Scotland and England, Western Europe, North America, and, recently, most of the world.Less
Theories of liberalism, constitutionalism, and democracy are mutual advantage theories. Liberalism is about arranging institutions to allow all of us to prosper in our own individual ways. Political liberalism was partly invented in response to religious claims that some ways of believing should be suppressed, and economic liberalism grew and was eventually more or less institutionalized in government policy because it caused all to prosper through the prosperity of each. Constitutionalism works when and only when it serves to coordinate a population on some matters, such as social order, commerce, and national defense that are more important than the issues on which they might differ. Similarly, democracy works only when there are no deeply divisive issues that override the value of order and other very generally advantageous values. The pre‐eminent theorists of mutual advantage are Thomas Hobbes, David Hume, and Adam Smith, although there are many strands of mutual advantage arguments in virtually all of political theory and in the predominant school of economic theory of the past several centuries in Scotland and England, Western Europe, North America, and, recently, most of the world.
BRENT WATERS
- Published in print:
- 2007
- Published Online:
- September 2007
- ISBN:
- 9780199271962
- eISBN:
- 9780191709883
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199271962.003.0004
- Subject:
- Religion, Religion and Society
This chapter summarizes the analyses and criticisms of the preceding chapters, and identifies the key themes to be developed in the following chapters. The chief argument to be developed in ...
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This chapter summarizes the analyses and criticisms of the preceding chapters, and identifies the key themes to be developed in the following chapters. The chief argument to be developed in subsequent chapters is that the failure of late liberalism to adequately preserve the nature of the familial association is the result of an inadequate theoretical account of social and political ordering. To correct this inadequacy, the following chapters develop a theological and teleological account of the family, and its normative implications for the tasks of social and political ordering.Less
This chapter summarizes the analyses and criticisms of the preceding chapters, and identifies the key themes to be developed in the following chapters. The chief argument to be developed in subsequent chapters is that the failure of late liberalism to adequately preserve the nature of the familial association is the result of an inadequate theoretical account of social and political ordering. To correct this inadequacy, the following chapters develop a theological and teleological account of the family, and its normative implications for the tasks of social and political ordering.
Russell Hardin
- Published in print:
- 1999
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780198290841
- eISBN:
- 9780191599415
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0198290845.001.0001
- Subject:
- Political Science, Political Theory
The central argument of this book is that liberalism, constitutionalism, and democracy, as well as, specifically, liberal constitutional democracy all work, when they do, because they serve the ...
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The central argument of this book is that liberalism, constitutionalism, and democracy, as well as, specifically, liberal constitutional democracy all work, when they do, because they serve the mutual advantage of the politically effective groups in the society through coordination of those groups on a political and, perhaps, economic order. These arguments are applied both to the early history of constitutional developments in the United States and to contemporary transitions from autocratic regimes to market democracies. A subsidiary claim is that constitutional political institutions and democratic procedures generally require not so much active support as merely acquiescence in order to survive and work. These are explanatory theses, not normative claims, but they have relevance for normative claims if one takes seriously some relative of Kant's dictum that ought implies can. If we are to insist that some form of government is normatively right for a particular society, we must be able to say that it would or could work for that society.It is commonly argued that what makes democracy right is that it works by consent. If so, it is such a distressingly minimal form of consent—acquiescence—as to be normatively disqualified. If we rule out mere acquiescence as adequate for consent, it seems likely that no credible argument can be adduced to defend liberal constitutional democracy in any detail on grounds of consent or contractarianism. Hence, concern for workability, which should be central to any moral assessment of principles of social order, undercuts the entire consent school of political theory.Less
The central argument of this book is that liberalism, constitutionalism, and democracy, as well as, specifically, liberal constitutional democracy all work, when they do, because they serve the mutual advantage of the politically effective groups in the society through coordination of those groups on a political and, perhaps, economic order. These arguments are applied both to the early history of constitutional developments in the United States and to contemporary transitions from autocratic regimes to market democracies. A subsidiary claim is that constitutional political institutions and democratic procedures generally require not so much active support as merely acquiescence in order to survive and work. These are explanatory theses, not normative claims, but they have relevance for normative claims if one takes seriously some relative of Kant's dictum that ought implies can. If we are to insist that some form of government is normatively right for a particular society, we must be able to say that it would or could work for that society.
It is commonly argued that what makes democracy right is that it works by consent. If so, it is such a distressingly minimal form of consent—acquiescence—as to be normatively disqualified. If we rule out mere acquiescence as adequate for consent, it seems likely that no credible argument can be adduced to defend liberal constitutional democracy in any detail on grounds of consent or contractarianism. Hence, concern for workability, which should be central to any moral assessment of principles of social order, undercuts the entire consent school of political theory.
Eleanor Hubbard
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- May 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780199609345
- eISBN:
- 9780191739088
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199609345.003.0009
- Subject:
- History, British and Irish Early Modern History
The conclusion uses Isabella Whitney’s poetry to illustrate some of the themes of this book, and highlights the theme of women’s agency, and women’s role in maintaining the social order of early ...
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The conclusion uses Isabella Whitney’s poetry to illustrate some of the themes of this book, and highlights the theme of women’s agency, and women’s role in maintaining the social order of early modern London.Less
The conclusion uses Isabella Whitney’s poetry to illustrate some of the themes of this book, and highlights the theme of women’s agency, and women’s role in maintaining the social order of early modern London.
Jo‐Marie Burt
- Published in print:
- 1997
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780198781837
- eISBN:
- 9780191598968
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0198781830.003.0012
- Subject:
- Political Science, Democratization
In the early 1990s, the rural‐based Maoist guerrilla organization, know as Shining Path, held Lima virtually under siege. The capture of the movement's leader by the Fujimori government in 1992 ...
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In the early 1990s, the rural‐based Maoist guerrilla organization, know as Shining Path, held Lima virtually under siege. The capture of the movement's leader by the Fujimori government in 1992 effectively undermined the movement's activities. The question remains, however, as to why Shining Path generated so much support in Lima's shantytowns. Are poor people more willing to support violent political alternatives? This study argues that subaltern groups in Peru continually negotiate relationships with a range of political actors, from populist presidents to leftist organizations. It looks beyond Shining Path's use of terror and intimidation to its provision of material and symbolic goods. Within the shantytowns, the absence of state services, extreme poverty, growing crime, and insecurity and weak local institutions to mediate conflict made Shining Path's tactics seem as an effective means of restoring social order and imparting social justice. The group failed to develop long‐term political ties. When the state targeted the shantytowns with increased services and provided a security, Shining Path lost support among popular sectors.Less
In the early 1990s, the rural‐based Maoist guerrilla organization, know as Shining Path, held Lima virtually under siege. The capture of the movement's leader by the Fujimori government in 1992 effectively undermined the movement's activities. The question remains, however, as to why Shining Path generated so much support in Lima's shantytowns. Are poor people more willing to support violent political alternatives? This study argues that subaltern groups in Peru continually negotiate relationships with a range of political actors, from populist presidents to leftist organizations. It looks beyond Shining Path's use of terror and intimidation to its provision of material and symbolic goods. Within the shantytowns, the absence of state services, extreme poverty, growing crime, and insecurity and weak local institutions to mediate conflict made Shining Path's tactics seem as an effective means of restoring social order and imparting social justice. The group failed to develop long‐term political ties. When the state targeted the shantytowns with increased services and provided a security, Shining Path lost support among popular sectors.
Peter Ramsay
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- September 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780199581061
- eISBN:
- 9780191741005
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199581061.001.0001
- Subject:
- Law, Criminal Law and Criminology
This book presents a theory of the recent emergence of a right to security and of its protection by the criminal law in the UK. It states that the protection of such a right makes sense of the ...
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This book presents a theory of the recent emergence of a right to security and of its protection by the criminal law in the UK. It states that the protection of such a right makes sense of the liabilities found in much of the expansive criminal legislation enacted under that government. This book identifies the normative source of the right to security in the idea of vulnerable autonomy. It demonstrates that this idea is axiomatic to political theories that have enjoyed a preponderant influence across the political mainstream, well beyond the ranks of the Labour government. It considers the continuing influence of these normative commitments on the Coalition government's policy. The book explores how the contemporary criminal law's institutionalization of a right to security differs from the law's earlier protection of security interests. It exposes the paradox presented by laws that declare their own lack of authority by threatening punishments that are justified on the assumption that the normal condition of the representative subject of law is one of feeling vulnerable to criminal victimization. The book presents unorthodox criminal law theory in two respects. First, it offers an explanatory political sociology of a contemporary trend in the criminal law's ‘special part’ rather than a philosophical treatment of the law's general principles. Second, rather than applying a pre-existing sociological or philosophical theory to the law, it develops its theoretical explanation from a detailed legal analysis and reconstruction of New Labour's flagship criminal justice policy, the Anti-Social Behaviour Order.Less
This book presents a theory of the recent emergence of a right to security and of its protection by the criminal law in the UK. It states that the protection of such a right makes sense of the liabilities found in much of the expansive criminal legislation enacted under that government. This book identifies the normative source of the right to security in the idea of vulnerable autonomy. It demonstrates that this idea is axiomatic to political theories that have enjoyed a preponderant influence across the political mainstream, well beyond the ranks of the Labour government. It considers the continuing influence of these normative commitments on the Coalition government's policy. The book explores how the contemporary criminal law's institutionalization of a right to security differs from the law's earlier protection of security interests. It exposes the paradox presented by laws that declare their own lack of authority by threatening punishments that are justified on the assumption that the normal condition of the representative subject of law is one of feeling vulnerable to criminal victimization. The book presents unorthodox criminal law theory in two respects. First, it offers an explanatory political sociology of a contemporary trend in the criminal law's ‘special part’ rather than a philosophical treatment of the law's general principles. Second, rather than applying a pre-existing sociological or philosophical theory to the law, it develops its theoretical explanation from a detailed legal analysis and reconstruction of New Labour's flagship criminal justice policy, the Anti-Social Behaviour Order.
Romila Thapar
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- September 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780198077244
- eISBN:
- 9780199081073
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198077244.003.0032
- Subject:
- History, Indian History
This chapter sums up the key findings of this study on the reign of Aśoka Maurya and the collapse of the Mauryan dynasty. It describes the place of Aśoka against the background of the third century ...
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This chapter sums up the key findings of this study on the reign of Aśoka Maurya and the collapse of the Mauryan dynasty. It describes the place of Aśoka against the background of the third century BC in India and the distinction between Aśoka the man and Aśoka the monarch. It suggests that Aśoka's greatness lay in the fact that he was equipped both by his own endeavour and by circumstances, to understand the culture to which he belonged and its then rapidly changing requirements. It also clarifies a popular misconception about the Mauryan period which describes it as one which was politically decentralised and individually democratic; whereas in fact it was the beginning of political centralisation and it also saw the triumph of a social order which did not permit of much individual liberty.Less
This chapter sums up the key findings of this study on the reign of Aśoka Maurya and the collapse of the Mauryan dynasty. It describes the place of Aśoka against the background of the third century BC in India and the distinction between Aśoka the man and Aśoka the monarch. It suggests that Aśoka's greatness lay in the fact that he was equipped both by his own endeavour and by circumstances, to understand the culture to which he belonged and its then rapidly changing requirements. It also clarifies a popular misconception about the Mauryan period which describes it as one which was politically decentralised and individually democratic; whereas in fact it was the beginning of political centralisation and it also saw the triumph of a social order which did not permit of much individual liberty.
Russell Hardin
- Published in print:
- 2007
- Published Online:
- September 2007
- ISBN:
- 9780199232567
- eISBN:
- 9780191715976
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199232567.003.0004
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Moral Philosophy
This chapter explores Hume's account of convention. His theory is that government derives its power to rule by convention, and the populace acquiesces in that rule by its own convention. He denies ...
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This chapter explores Hume's account of convention. His theory is that government derives its power to rule by convention, and the populace acquiesces in that rule by its own convention. He denies Hobbes's claims of the necessity of an all-powerful sovereign and of the absolute need of government if we are to have social order. Iterated coordination, the force of convention, conventions and functional explanation, allegiance to government, and unequal coordination are discussed.Less
This chapter explores Hume's account of convention. His theory is that government derives its power to rule by convention, and the populace acquiesces in that rule by its own convention. He denies Hobbes's claims of the necessity of an all-powerful sovereign and of the absolute need of government if we are to have social order. Iterated coordination, the force of convention, conventions and functional explanation, allegiance to government, and unequal coordination are discussed.
Russell Hardin
- Published in print:
- 2007
- Published Online:
- September 2007
- ISBN:
- 9780199232567
- eISBN:
- 9780191715976
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199232567.003.0005
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Moral Philosophy
This chapter discusses Hume's political theory. Topics covered include power, social order, government, justificatory theories of the state, contractarianism, public-goods theories, shared-value ...
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This chapter discusses Hume's political theory. Topics covered include power, social order, government, justificatory theories of the state, contractarianism, public-goods theories, shared-value theories, rebellion, and international relations. It is argued that Hume's account is richly grounded in coordination and convention. He thinks that utility or interest is a major part of what motivates us in general and especially with respect to government. This concern may be elevated to the moral theory of utilitarianism.Less
This chapter discusses Hume's political theory. Topics covered include power, social order, government, justificatory theories of the state, contractarianism, public-goods theories, shared-value theories, rebellion, and international relations. It is argued that Hume's account is richly grounded in coordination and convention. He thinks that utility or interest is a major part of what motivates us in general and especially with respect to government. This concern may be elevated to the moral theory of utilitarianism.
Michael Hechter
- Published in print:
- 2001
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780199247516
- eISBN:
- 9780191599460
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/019924751X.003.0008
- Subject:
- Political Science, Political Theory
A variety of institutional mechanisms of containing nationalist violence is considered, including consociationalism, electoral design, and federation. Federation is a viable means of containing ...
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A variety of institutional mechanisms of containing nationalist violence is considered, including consociationalism, electoral design, and federation. Federation is a viable means of containing nationalist violence, but only as long as the minority nation remains dependent on the centre for key public goods. The centre's capacity to devolve authority credibly to minority nations hinges not on value considerations, but on its adoption of institutions guaranteeing procedural justice.Less
A variety of institutional mechanisms of containing nationalist violence is considered, including consociationalism, electoral design, and federation. Federation is a viable means of containing nationalist violence, but only as long as the minority nation remains dependent on the centre for key public goods. The centre's capacity to devolve authority credibly to minority nations hinges not on value considerations, but on its adoption of institutions guaranteeing procedural justice.
Brian Z. Tamanaha
- Published in print:
- 2001
- Published Online:
- January 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780199244676
- eISBN:
- 9780191715044
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199244676.001.0001
- Subject:
- Law, Philosophy of Law
This book provides a theoretical and sociological exploration of the relationship between law and society. Law is generally understood to be a mirror of society — a reflection of its customs and ...
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This book provides a theoretical and sociological exploration of the relationship between law and society. Law is generally understood to be a mirror of society — a reflection of its customs and morals — that functions to maintain social order. Focusing on this common understanding, the book conducts a survey of Western legal and social theories about law and its relationship within society. It then engages in a theoretical and empirical critique of this common understanding. The theoretical critique exposes the mythical quality of the two most often repeated theories about the emergence of law, the evolutionary theory and the social contract theory. It also discusses a fundamental shift, resulting from Enlightenment ideas about reason and morality, in the theoretical understanding of the relationship between morality and law. The empirical critique covers various subjects, primarily including the impact of legal transplantation and globalisation. The book then constructs an alternative universally applicable framework with which to understand the relationship between law and society. The core component to this framework is a non-essentialist approach to the concept of law, which provides a basis for understanding of the phenomenon of legal pluralism. Finally, the book articulates how this framework would operate in facilitating our ability to study, understand, and criticise the relationship between law and society in a variety of contexts around the world today. In addition to illuminating the relationship between law and society, a key aspect of the argument of this book is to construct an approach to law that integrates legal theory with sociological approaches to law.Less
This book provides a theoretical and sociological exploration of the relationship between law and society. Law is generally understood to be a mirror of society — a reflection of its customs and morals — that functions to maintain social order. Focusing on this common understanding, the book conducts a survey of Western legal and social theories about law and its relationship within society. It then engages in a theoretical and empirical critique of this common understanding. The theoretical critique exposes the mythical quality of the two most often repeated theories about the emergence of law, the evolutionary theory and the social contract theory. It also discusses a fundamental shift, resulting from Enlightenment ideas about reason and morality, in the theoretical understanding of the relationship between morality and law. The empirical critique covers various subjects, primarily including the impact of legal transplantation and globalisation. The book then constructs an alternative universally applicable framework with which to understand the relationship between law and society. The core component to this framework is a non-essentialist approach to the concept of law, which provides a basis for understanding of the phenomenon of legal pluralism. Finally, the book articulates how this framework would operate in facilitating our ability to study, understand, and criticise the relationship between law and society in a variety of contexts around the world today. In addition to illuminating the relationship between law and society, a key aspect of the argument of this book is to construct an approach to law that integrates legal theory with sociological approaches to law.
Sergio Fabbrini
- Published in print:
- 2007
- Published Online:
- May 2008
- ISBN:
- 9780199235612
- eISBN:
- 9780191715686
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199235612.003.0005
- Subject:
- Political Science, Comparative Politics
This chapter discusses the different forms of structuring of partisan politics in America and the European nation-states. Regarding the party systems, American politics has been traditionally ...
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This chapter discusses the different forms of structuring of partisan politics in America and the European nation-states. Regarding the party systems, American politics has been traditionally organized around different types of sectional cleavages. The inter-state features of the compound polity have influenced the politics at the supra-states level. In the European nation-states, sectional cleavages have never imposed themselves as the inspiring principle of party systems' logic. However, in certain European nation-states (such as Spain or Italy), territorial divisions emerged periodically.Less
This chapter discusses the different forms of structuring of partisan politics in America and the European nation-states. Regarding the party systems, American politics has been traditionally organized around different types of sectional cleavages. The inter-state features of the compound polity have influenced the politics at the supra-states level. In the European nation-states, sectional cleavages have never imposed themselves as the inspiring principle of party systems' logic. However, in certain European nation-states (such as Spain or Italy), territorial divisions emerged periodically.
Chandran Kukathas
- Published in print:
- 1989
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780198273264
- eISBN:
- 9780191684029
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198273264.003.0004
- Subject:
- Political Science, Political Theory
This chapter focuses on Hayek's social theory of individualism. It identifies the distinct elements of Hayek's individualism and evaluates the strength of his social theory. Just as Hume's philosophy ...
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This chapter focuses on Hayek's social theory of individualism. It identifies the distinct elements of Hayek's individualism and evaluates the strength of his social theory. Just as Hume's philosophy sought only to caution against rationalist inspired justifications of existing authority or of revolutionary reform, this theory is able to suggest the limits to which any social order can be moulded or controlled by individuals or governments, whether well or ill-mentioned. Despite the problems Hayek encounters in trying to establish a set of normative liberal principles, his social theory offers an important challenge to the critics of liberal individualism. This chapter also elucidates the theory of spontaneous order and explains how it informs Hayek's critique of social justice.Less
This chapter focuses on Hayek's social theory of individualism. It identifies the distinct elements of Hayek's individualism and evaluates the strength of his social theory. Just as Hume's philosophy sought only to caution against rationalist inspired justifications of existing authority or of revolutionary reform, this theory is able to suggest the limits to which any social order can be moulded or controlled by individuals or governments, whether well or ill-mentioned. Despite the problems Hayek encounters in trying to establish a set of normative liberal principles, his social theory offers an important challenge to the critics of liberal individualism. This chapter also elucidates the theory of spontaneous order and explains how it informs Hayek's critique of social justice.
Anna Wallette
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- January 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780197264522
- eISBN:
- 9780191734724
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- British Academy
- DOI:
- 10.5871/bacad/9780197264522.003.0007
- Subject:
- Psychology, Evolutionary Psychology
During the Viking Age, the use of private violence was a precondition for social power. Iceland, for instance, was a law-making community but had no executive power to put the laws into effect. ...
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During the Viking Age, the use of private violence was a precondition for social power. Iceland, for instance, was a law-making community but had no executive power to put the laws into effect. Politics throughout the whole of Scandinavia was based on strong personal relations. This was not a society of uncontrolled violence, but, alongside the development of church and kingdom, the attitude towards a legal type of violence changed. The Icelandic sagas are preoccupied with networks; the alliance patterns described can shed light on the relations between both biological and social kin. This chapter describes competing loyalties through marriage, fostering, friendship, and pledges of support. Kin and marriage systems are the main organization form for people. The discussion also considers alliances and the need for strong bonds with both family and friends at a time when the political and social order was changing.Less
During the Viking Age, the use of private violence was a precondition for social power. Iceland, for instance, was a law-making community but had no executive power to put the laws into effect. Politics throughout the whole of Scandinavia was based on strong personal relations. This was not a society of uncontrolled violence, but, alongside the development of church and kingdom, the attitude towards a legal type of violence changed. The Icelandic sagas are preoccupied with networks; the alliance patterns described can shed light on the relations between both biological and social kin. This chapter describes competing loyalties through marriage, fostering, friendship, and pledges of support. Kin and marriage systems are the main organization form for people. The discussion also considers alliances and the need for strong bonds with both family and friends at a time when the political and social order was changing.
Roland Kley
- Published in print:
- 1994
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780198279167
- eISBN:
- 9780191684289
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198279167.003.0006
- Subject:
- Political Science, Political Theory
Friedrich A. Hayek defines social theory as the systematic study of spontaneous orders, maintaining that an individual may often be a member not only of the comprehensive spontaneous order of society ...
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Friedrich A. Hayek defines social theory as the systematic study of spontaneous orders, maintaining that an individual may often be a member not only of the comprehensive spontaneous order of society but also ‘of numerous other spontaneous sub-orders’. This chapter explores what further applications the idea of a spontaneous order may have in the social world. It considers the distinction between order as a network of interactions among numerous parties and order as an established system of rules or norms. It also offers various semantic and other reflections exploring the concepts of social order and spontaneity to be found at the root of the idea of a spontaneous social order. Five claims are discussed that represent the substance of the notion of a spontaneous economic order, and how far they may be applicable to a wider range of phenomena loosely qualifying as spontaneous social orders.Less
Friedrich A. Hayek defines social theory as the systematic study of spontaneous orders, maintaining that an individual may often be a member not only of the comprehensive spontaneous order of society but also ‘of numerous other spontaneous sub-orders’. This chapter explores what further applications the idea of a spontaneous order may have in the social world. It considers the distinction between order as a network of interactions among numerous parties and order as an established system of rules or norms. It also offers various semantic and other reflections exploring the concepts of social order and spontaneity to be found at the root of the idea of a spontaneous social order. Five claims are discussed that represent the substance of the notion of a spontaneous economic order, and how far they may be applicable to a wider range of phenomena loosely qualifying as spontaneous social orders.
Garrett Barden and Tim Murphy
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- January 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780199592685
- eISBN:
- 9780191595653
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199592685.003.0002
- Subject:
- Law, Philosophy of Law
How did it come about that humans live together in a community? This chapter argues — in contrast to ‘social contract’ approaches — that human society is a spontaneous ordering of the natural ...
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How did it come about that humans live together in a community? This chapter argues — in contrast to ‘social contract’ approaches — that human society is a spontaneous ordering of the natural sociability of humans. Civil society is a spontaneous order that gives rise to a spontaneous jural order made up of the ‘living law’ or communal moral law, which state or positive law expresses in part and develops. It emphasizes the similarity between the practice of language and the social and jural domains, and argues that the function of all law is to sustain a peaceful social order. The discussions in the chapter are drawn together with reference to Thomas Hobbes's De Cive (1642) and Leviathan (1651).Less
How did it come about that humans live together in a community? This chapter argues — in contrast to ‘social contract’ approaches — that human society is a spontaneous ordering of the natural sociability of humans. Civil society is a spontaneous order that gives rise to a spontaneous jural order made up of the ‘living law’ or communal moral law, which state or positive law expresses in part and develops. It emphasizes the similarity between the practice of language and the social and jural domains, and argues that the function of all law is to sustain a peaceful social order. The discussions in the chapter are drawn together with reference to Thomas Hobbes's De Cive (1642) and Leviathan (1651).
