Max Weber's Interpretive Sociology of Law

This book presents a clear and precise account of the structure and content of Max Weber's sociology of law: situating its methodological and epistemological specificity in relation to other approaches to the sociology of law; as well as offering a critical evaluation of Weber's usefulness for contemporary socio-legal research. The book is divided into three parts. The first part deals with the methodological foundations of Weber's sociology of law. The second analyses the central theme of this sociology, the rationalisation of law, from the perspective of its internal logical coherence, its empirical validity, and finally its legitimacy. The third part questions the present-day relevance of the Weberian sociology of law for socio-legal research, notablywith regard tolegal pluralism. Max Weber, it is demonstrated, is not merely a 'founding father' of the sociology of law; rather, his methodology, concepts, and empirical analyses remain highly useful to the further development of work in this area.

Introduction Part I. Methodological Foundations Chapter 1. The Starting Point: Max Weber’s Critique of Stammler Chapter 2. The Ideal-Typical Method Chapter 3. Rationality as a Fundamental Category of Weberian Sociology Part II. Rationalisation of Law Chapter 4. Logical Coherence Chapter 5. Empirical Validity Chapter 6: Legitimacy Part III. Weberian Sociology and Contemporary Law: Some Key Aspects Chapter 7. Sociology of Law and Jurisprudence Chapter 8. Legal Pluralism Chapter 9. Substantive Rationalisation of Law Conclusion References Index

Michel Coutu is Professor of labour law and legal sociology at the School of Industrial Relations, Université de Montréal, Canada.