A Comparison of Sociopolitical Legal Studies

Abstract

This article compares sociopolitical perspectives about the law in three regions of the world: the United States, France, and Latin America. Despite their heterogeneity, these sociolegal perspectives share many practical and theoretical similarities. For this reason, this article proposes grouping them under the more general title of sociopolitical legal studies (SLS). This general label includes a collection of transdisciplinary research, theories, and studies that view law as a sociopolitical phenomenon central to the understanding of power and society. The concept of SLS reveals the existence of a transversal ground between three academic disciplines: sociology of law, legal theory, and sociolegal studies, which, in spite of multiple connections, rarely communicate with one another. Additionally, the term studies is used in a broad sense, including not just legal theories but also empirical analyses of the law.