Abstract

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 classic and contemporary social theories of law

• is informed by empirical research drawn from several countries/societies

• includes up to date and relevant examples

This thoroughly updated edition engages with modern scholarship, and recent research, on globalization whilst also looking at related issues such as the internationalization of law and human rights.

It explores recent reforms at local and national levels, including issues of migration and refugees, the regulation of 'anti-social' behaviour, and specialist or problem solving courts and also provides a clear, accessible introduction to research methods used in the socio-legal field.

Direct and wide-ranging this text will be essential reading for students and researchers on social science and law courses and in particular, those taking sociology, legal theory, criminology and criminal justice studies.
This second edition of an influential and insightful book maintains its originality... it is greatly enhanced by the inclusion of recent debates, including globalization, surveillance, the war on terror and the ways in which the law increasingly pervades into every aspect of civil and social life in advanced societies.

This edition should easily comprise a core text for a range of academics and students either as an introduction to the pervasiveness of the law for those with a social science background, as an introduction to the social elements of the legal arena for those with a legal background or as a useful eclectic text for those looking for key insights into wide ranging criminological, sociological and legal debates. The charm of the text is its accessibility which is not detrimental to its academic importance, making a scholarly contribution to the socio legal field
Diane Lister
Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Tromsø, Norway

Undoubtedly succeeds as a text… Its value rests on its ability to integrate an accessible style with numerous examples from varied jurisdictions which students from both the legal and sociological disciplines will benefit enormously. Accordingly, this book comes highly recommended
International Journal of the Sociology of Law
Praise for the First Edition