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Law against the State

Law against the State Ethnographic Forays into Law's Transformations

Author: Professor Julia Eckert; Dr Brian Donahoe; Professor Christian Strümpell; Dr Zerrin Özlem Biner
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 9781107014664
Published In: May 2012
Format: Hardback , 306 pages
Jurisdiction: International ? Disclaimer:
Countri(es) stated herein are used as reference only

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This collection of rich, empirically grounded case studies investigates the conditions and consequences of 'juridification' – the use of law by ordinary individuals as a form of protest against 'the state'. Starting from the actual practices of claimants, these case studies address the translation and interpretation of legal norms into local concepts, actions and practices in a way that highlights the social and cultural dynamism and multivocality of communities in their interaction with the law and legal norms. The contributors to this volume challenge the image of homogeneous and primordially norm-bound cultures that has been (unintentionally) perpetuated by some of the more prevalent treatments of law and culture. This volume highlights the heterogeneous geography of law and the ways boundaries between different legal bodies are transcended in struggles for rights. Contributions include case studies from South Africa, Malawi, Sierra Leone, Turkey, India, Papua New Guinea, Suriname, the Marshall Islands and Russia.

• Dynamic, ethnographically rich case studies from across the globe

• Compelling for readers who are interested in real-life interactions with law

• Empirically grounded analysis of legal institutions across a variety of scales

Notes on contributors	ix
Acknowledgements	xiv
Introduction:Law’s travels and transformations Julia Eckert, Zerrin Özlem Biner, Brian Donahoe and Christian Strümpell	1
1 Juridification of indigenous politics Stuart Kirsch	23
2 Naming, claiming, proving? The burden of proof issue for Russia’s indigenous peoples Brian Donahoe	44
3 Human rights and village headmen in Malawi: translation beyond vernacularisation Harri Englund	70
4 Juridification, transitional justice and reaching out to the public in Sierra Leone Gerhard Anders	94
5 The juridification of political protest and the politicisation of legalism in South African land restitution Olaf Zenker	118
6 Rumours of rights Julia Eckert	147
7 Public interest and private compromises: the politics of environmental negotiation in Delhi, India Amita Baviskar	171
8 Law against displacement: the juridification of tribal protest in Rourkela, Orissa Christian Strümpell	202
9 Documenting ‘truth’ in the margins of the Turkish state Zerrin Özlem Biner	228
10 The ones who walk away: law, sacrifice and conscientious objection in Turkey Erdem Evren	245
Epilogue:Changing paradigms of human rights Upendra Baxi	266
Index	286