Teaching the Political Sociology of Law

This chapter examines the historical interactions between political sociology and legal sociology, arguing that, for different reasons, these subdisciplines of sociology are not fully separate. First, it explains that, through its initial development, political sociology was closely related to legal sociology, and many claims presented by early exponents of political sociology (Marx, Durkheim and Weber) were claims of a legal nature. This was partly caused by the fact that leading early sociologists were educated in law, and they developed their arguments through engagement with traditions of legal reflection. It then explains that, since the 1980s, political sociology has embarked on a legal or constitutional turn, expressed mainly in sociological theories of democracy and basic rights. Through this turn, the reliance of political sociology on legal material and legal method has become more intense, and many political-sociological arguments depend for their plausibility on legal analysis. Political sociologists are required to think in legal terms - that is, to address their objects through a dual political-legal prism, and political sociology must engage more intensely with legal material. Some suggestions are made regarding legal material and legal perspectives that may be utilized for teaching sociology.