Power of Law in a Transnational World

Keebet von Benda-Beckmann is head of the Project Group Legal Pluralism at the Max Planck Institute for Social Anthropology in Halle, Germany. She also is an honorary professor in Leipzig and Halle. Her research in Indonesia and the Netherlands focuses on legal pluralism, social security, governance and on the role of religion in disputing processes.

• AcknowledgementsIntroduction: The Power of LawFranz von Benda-Beckmann, Keebet von Benda-Beckmann and Anne GriffithsPOWER OF LAW AS DISCOURSE: CLAIMS TO LEGITIMACY AND HIGHER MORALITYChapter 1. The Military Order of 13 November 2001: An Ethnographic ReadingCarol J. GreenhouseChapter 2. Law and the Frontiers of IllegalitiesLaura NaderChapter 3. Selective Scrutiny: Supranational Engagement with Minority Protection and Rights in EuropeJane K. CowanChapter 4. The Globalization of Fatwas amidst the Terror Wars against PluralismUpendra BaxiChapter 5. Human Rights, Cultural Relativism and Legal Pluralism: Towards a Two-dimensional DebateFranz von Benda-BeckmannAT THE INTERSECTION OF LEGALITIESChapter 6. Learning Communities and Legal Spaces: Community based Fisheries Management in a Globalizing WorldMelanie G. Wiber and John F. KearneyChapter 7. Project Law – a Power Instrument of Development Agencies: A Case Study from BurundiMarkus WeilenmannChapter 8. Half-Told Truths and Partial Silence: Managing Communication in Scottish Children’s HearingsAnne Griffiths and Randy F. KandelRELIGION AS A RESOURCE IN LEGAL PLURALISMChapter 9. Keeping the Stream of Justice Clear and Pure: The Buddhicization of Bhutanese LawRichard W. WhitecrossChapter 10. Balancing Islam, Adat and the State: Comparing Islamic and Civil Courts in IndonesiaKeebet von Benda-BeckmannChapter 11. Kings, Monks, Bureaucrats and the Police: Tibetan Responses to Law and AuthorityFernanda PirieNotes on ContributorsIndex

“…essential reading for scholars interested in understanding sociopolitical change under globalization in the early 21st century…I recommend [this volume] for advanced undergraduate and graduate courses in legal anthropology, political anthropology, the anthropology of the state, and globalization. Several chapters could also be creatively woven into courses on the anthropology of religion.”  ·  PoLAR"...there is much common ground between the contributors, and the variety of contexts and situations are valuable for showing how the unifying themes… work out on different grounds."  ·  Journal of Legal Pluralism"This fascinating collection of articles sheds new light on the way law exercises power in a transnational world, from the crises of terrorism to the subtle introduction of new law within development projects. This set of articles provides new evidence of the important insights offered by legal pluralism and anthropological methodologies for understanding the nature of transnational, national, and local systems of law."  ·  Sally Engle Merry, New York University