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Journal of Law and Society

Edited by:
Philip A. Thomas

ISI Journal Citation Reports® Ranking: 2008: 59/104 Law; 48/99 Sociology
Impact Factor: 0.774

Established as the leading British periodical for Socio-Legal Studies The Journal of Law and Society offers an interdisciplinary approach. It is committed to achieving a broad international appeal, attracting contributions and addressing issues from a range of legal cultures, as well as theoretical concerns of cross- cultural interest. It produces an annual special issue, which is also published in book form. It has a widely respected Book Review section and is cited all over the world. Challenging, authoritative and topical, the journal appeals to legal researchers and practitioners as well as sociologists, criminologists and other social scientists.

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SLSA newsletter
Subscribers to the Journal of Law and Society also receive the Socio-Legal Studies Association (SLSA) newsletter 3 times a year with their print copy of the journal. To read the newsletter online click here

Journal of Law and Society Special Issue Series
Published annually, this series offers an interdisciplinary approach to specific themes within Socio-Legal Studies.

2009 Special Issue
Economic Globalization and Ecological Localization
Edited by: Robert G. Lee and Elen Stokes
This book explores the interrelationship between global economic interests and local ecological interests, and its implications in law.

Seeks to examine the capacity of global forces to subjugate local interests in responding to territorially confined threats
Evaluates the extent to which solutions to global environmental problems may depend on local action
Analyses the impact of globalization on legal structures and their ability to accommodate local concerns
Considers whether globalization, and the elimination of national borders, actually offers an opportunity to re-assert the power of local and regional governance

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ISBN: 978-1-4051-9293-4

2008 Special Issue
Children, Family Responsibilities and the State
Edited by: Craig Lind and Heather Keating
This book explores the growing interest in the way in which the state polices, and ought to police, families failing in their responsibilities.

Reflects on the increasing social science research and growing legal system involvement in the 'problem' of failing families particularly where children are involved.
Considers topics ranging from the state's attempts to promote responsible parenting by training parents and by punishing them and their children for their children's antisocial behaviour through to its enthusiasm for creating frameworks for better substituted parenting (through fostering and adoption)
Evaluates problems from the perspective of both empirical evidence and the practical and ideological ambitions that government policy is attempting to pursue
Brings together commentators from a variety of disciplines who all offer a fresh critique on these matters

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ISBN: 978-1-4051-8301-7

2007 Special Issue
Democracy's Empire
Sovreignty, Law and Violence
Edited by: Stewart Motha
The essays in this volume take on the challenge of explaining the current formation of the relation between sovereignty, law and violence in what is termed 'Democracy's Empire'.

Contains a situated discussion of the institution of democracy and related
juridico-political problems
Examines the historical and philosophical legacies which inform Democracy's Empire - such as the Roman Republic, the separation between Church and State in the enlightenment, formations of revolutionary violence, and the relation between norm and exception
Poses the problem of violence and death at the heart of the institution of democracy including examples such as South Africa and Iraq
Offers a mixture of historical and philosophical treatment of democracy as a juridical problem of constitutional violence

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ISBN: 9781405163132

2006 Special Issue
Debating Affirmative ActionConceptual, Contextual and Comparative Perspectives
Edited by: Aileen McHarg and Donald Nicolson
This collection examines the case for affirmative action in the UK in relation to employment, higher education, the legal profession, the judiciary, political representation and minority language rights.

Draws on experience of affirmative action in the United States, Canada and Germany.
Contributions highlight the importance of how affirmative action is conceptualised and of context in evaluating the case for affirmative action.
Emphasises the need for pragmatic judgments about the likely effectiveness and costs of affirmative action policies.

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ISBN: 140514839X

2005 Special Issue
Human Rights Act: A Success Story?
Edited by: Luke Clements and Philip Thomas
This book seeks to examine the impact of the Human Rights Act legislation from the viewpoint of judges, lawyers, civil libertarians, politicians and academics.

Investigation of the Human Rights Act since it came into force in 2000.
Contributors include Sir Stephen Sedley, Thomas Mullen, Roger Smith and Lord Lester of Herne Hill.
Offers insights and suggestions for developing a more effective, accessible and successful employment of the Human Rights Act.

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ISBN: 1405123753

2004 Special Issue
Law and Literature
Edited by: Patrick Hanafin, Adam Gearey & Joseph Brooker
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ISBN: 1-4051-1930

2003 Special Issue
After Universalism: Reengineering access to justice
Edited by: Richard Moorhead, Pascoe Pleasence
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ISBN 1-4051-1247-6