The Powers of Law
A Comparative Analysis of Sociopolitical Legal Studies
Cambridge Studies in Law and Society Series

Comparative studies can reveal much about how law is formed out of social reality and political power by exploring these interactions in different national contexts. In this work Mauricio García-Villegas compares ideas about law and society in France and the United States, demonstrating different approaches to sociopolitical legal studies. Using the interdisciplinary tools of the sociology of law, critical legal theory, and sociolegal studies, García-Villegas builds up an insightful overview of what constitutes law and society theory and practice in France and the United States. He brings together diverse perspectives and practices that generally do not communicate well with one another, as is often the case between the critical theory of law of jurists and the legal sociology of sociologists. This study will allow readers to understand the sociology of law in a comparative perspective and sets out a new research agenda for the field of sociopolitical legal studies.

1. A sociopolitical understanding of law; 2. The symbolic uses of law: at the heart of a political sociology of law; 3. Legal fields and the social sciences in France and the United States; 4. Sociopolitical legal studies in the United States; 5. Sociopolitical legal studies in France; 6. Conclusion: the present and future of sociopolitical legal studies.

Mauricio García-Villegas is Professor at Universidad Nacional de Colombia, Instituto de Estudios Políticos y Relaciones Internacionales (IEPRI), and an Honorary Fellow of the University of Wisconsin, Madison Institute for Legal Studies.