This classic and pathbreaking study in the sociology of law has won multiple academic awards for its insight, clarity, and broad import in examining the UK's Rent Acts and landlord behavior over a period of time in the 1960s and 1970s. Not just a revelation of the unintended consequences of well-meaning tenant reforms--though it certainly does lay bare the bizarre side-effects of a law presented as protecting tenants from unscrupulous landlords--the book is a deeper penetration into the ve...

David Nelken is the 2013 laureate of the Association for Law and Society International PrizeThe increasingly important topic of comparative criminal justice is examined from an original and insightful perspective by David Nelken, one of the top scholars in the field. The author looks at why we should study crime and criminal justice in a comparative and international context, and the difficulties we encounter when we do.Drawing on experience of teaching and research in a va...

The year 1996 in Italian politics was a year rich in novelty. After the "stalled transition" of 1995, the political atmosphere had begun to change. Most obvious was the end of Dini's unelected government of technocrats, supported by a heterogeneous group in Parliament, and its replacement with Romano Prodi's government, a coalition of the parties that had won the general election on April 21, 1996. But an even more important change and one more likely to be remembered was a new climate of ...

This title was first published in 2000: This text tackles the issues raised by comparative research into criminal justice on other cultures. How far does criminal justice reflect general culture? Can collaborative research overcome the problem of translating incommensurable concepts? What are the possibilities for "virtual comparisons"? How do we tell difference? The authors, drawn from a range of countries, offer reflections on international differences in the process of trial and punishm...

In this exciting and topical collection, leading scholars discuss the implications of globalisation for the fields of comparative criminology and criminal justice. How far does it still make sense to distinguish nation states, for example in comparing prison rates? Is globalisation best treated as an inevitable trend or as an interactive process? How can globalisation's effects on space and borders be conceptualised? How does it help to create norms and exceptions? The editor, David Nelken...

This volume cross-examines mainstream approaches to studying legal culture (e.g. those of Friedman and Blankenburg). It includes debates over the concept of legal culture and a variety of case studies of different legal cultures.

This intriguing collection of essays by David Nelken examines the relationship between law, society and social theory and the various ideas social theorists have had about the actual and ideal 'fit' between law and its social context. It also asks how far it is possible to get beyond this mainstream paradigm. The value of social theorising for studying law is illustrated by specific developments in substantive areas such as housing law, tort law, the law of evidence and criminal law. Throu...

This innovative, refreshing, and reader-friendly book is aimed at enabling students to familiarise themselves with the challenges and controversies found in comparative law. At present there is no book which clearly explains the contemporary debates and methodological innovations found in modern comparative law. This book fills that gap in teaching at undergraduate level, and for postgraduates will be a starting point for further reading and discussion.Among the topics covered are: ...

This is a timely new edition of Sharyn L Roach Anleu′s invaluable introduction to the sociology of law and its role as a social institution and social process.Discussing current theory and key empirical research from a diverse range of perspectives Law and Social Change gives relevant examples, from various cultures and societies, to provide a sociological view which goes beyond more jurisprudential approaches to law and society.The book:• provides coverage of major...

Friedrich Kratochwil's book explores the role of law in the international arena and the key discourses surrounding it. It explains the increased importance of law for politics, from law-fare to the judicialization of politics, to human rights, and why traditional expectations of progress through law have led to disappointment. Providing an overview of the debates in legal theory, philosophy, international law and international organizations, Kratochwil reflects on the need to break down di...

′Lea has produced a serious and scholarly contribution of great interest to criminologists (whether "critical "or not), to post graduates, as well as the more advanced undergraduate. This is a book that is well written, absorbing, thoughtful and thought provoking′ - The British Journal of CriminologyCrime control is in crisis. Not only have levels of crime risen but, more important, crime is increasingly regarded as a normal aspect of the social and economic system rather than disr...

In this important and original book, Reece Walters examines the politics of criminology and the ways in which criminological knowledge is generated. It includes an overview of the politics and practice of conducting criminological research (drawing upon material from Britain, Europe, Australia, New Zealand and the USA), and the ways that regulatory and governing authorities set research agendas, manipulate the processes and production of knowledge and silence or suppress critical voices th...