Discipline and field: some thoughts on the relationship between political science and law and society
Abstract
Abstract The relationship between political science and sociolegal scholarship is, at it’s best, a constitutive one. This essay argues that the two fields of study have taken turns illuminating important aspects of law, politics, and social life – responding, in turn, to the theoretical and empirical findings of each other. Law and Society scholarship, in particular, presses political scientists to rethink their foundational assumptions about the rule of law, the power of institutions, and the meaning of judicial decision-making and processes. Some of this rethinking may result, as we posited on the panel which gave rise to this work, in a fruitful “undisciplining” of the field, and re-imagining of the political.
Fields of Study & Subjects
Political Science Research and Education
Judicial and Constitutional Studies
Law and Political Science
Publication details
- Journal / source
- Law & Society Review
- Volume
- 60
- Issue
- 1
- Pages
- 82–88
- Publication date
- 6 February 2026
- Language
- EN