Historical sociology of law

Abstract

The chapter offers and overview of historical sociology of law, focusing on the sociological studies of the official law. It unfolds the main themes in historical sociology of law ordered by research traditions and demonstrates the plurality of paths along which historical-sociological studies of law developed. The introduction briefly outlines the philosophical prehistory of sociohistorical approaches to law centers on the connection between the law and the state, on the one hand, and the law and morality, on the other, as a durable motif of ancient philosophy reiterating in contemporary social sciences. It is followed by a presentation of three paradigms in sociology of law, inspired by Michel Foucault, Pierre Bourdieu, and Niklas Luhmann. The role of historical material and the scope of sociohistorical insights in each of these distinct theoretical approaches is exemplified by a brief discussion of the main contributions of each of the three theorists, indicating the further research directions they inspired and the main branches of law which they influenced. The final section includes a synoptic summary of the path of historical sociology of law and concludes with a tentative glance into the future, arguing for a cultural turn in the historical sociology of law and the necessity of its further interdisciplinary connectivity.