Understanding Law in Society

The sociology of law has made impressive progress over the last decades. The present volume brings together scholars from Austria, Britain, Germany and Scandinavia to discuss major developments. The book starts with analyses of the sociology of law advanced by the most outstanding theorists in the field, Max Weber and Niklas Luhmann. Their legacy is assessed by Hubert Treiber, Frank Welz and Inger-Johanne Sand. Next, Håkan Hydén emphases the gain sociology of law could have from a stronger focus on norms. Armin Höland and Ole Hammerslev ask about the effects courts have. Klaus F. Röhl provides an international overview on "alternatives of law", one of the main topics of socio-legal studies since the 1960s. The final article by Stefan Machura in this volume addresses the media´s impact on the public´s perception of the legal system.

Prof. Dr. phil. Knut Papendorf, Institute for Criminology and Sociology of Law, University of Oslo, Norway. His special research interest is in criminal policy, sociology of law and control politics.

Dr. rer. soc., Dr. rer. pol. habil. Stefan Machura, Bangor University, School of Social Sciences, UK. His special research interest is in sociology of law, criminology and related areas within sociology, public management and political science.

Prof. Dr. philos. Kristian Andenæs is Head of the Department of Criminology and Sociology of Law, University of Oslo, Norway. His special research interest is in sociology of law, social and criminal policy, legal aid and immigration law.