The first reader on Asian law and society scholarship, this book features reading selections from a wide range of Asian countries – East, South, Southeast and Central Asia – along with original commentaries by the three editors on the theoretical debates and research methods pertinent to the discipline. Organized by themes and topical areas, the reader enables scholars and students to break out of country-specific silos to make theoretical connections across national borders. It meets a growing demand for law and society materials in institutions and universities in Asia and around the world. It is written at a level accessible to advanced undergraduate students and graduate students as well as experienced researchers, and serves as a valuable teaching tool for courses focused on Asian law and society in law schools, area studies, history, religion, and social science fields such as sociology, anthropology, politics, government, and criminal justice.

‘This is just the volume that sociolegal scholars have been waiting for! The Asian Law and Society Reader is an elegantly organized, comprehensive, and accessible text, analyzing contemporary substantive topics within enduring legacies of colonialism and rapid legal and social transformation. The text illuminates the significance of this innovative and rich body of research for all law and society scholars today - wherever one works in the world.’

Eve Darian-Smith - Professor and Chair of Global and International Studies, University of California, Irvine, and coeditor of the Routledge Handbook of Law and Society (2021)

‘This book is a treasure trove of law and society research, spanning a massive diversity of societies and an equally broad array of issues. There is no scholar of the region who will fail to learn from it, and it will be of great use for teaching and research.’

Tom Ginsburg - Leo Spitz Professor of International Law, Ludwig and Hilde Wolf Research Scholar, and Professor of Political Science, University of Chicago

‘This intelligently curated collection brings together a new generation of Asian law and society research. It is exactly the right starting point for getting up to speed on the diversity of the field, or for anyone who wants to learn more about Asian politics and society through the lens of law.’

Rachel Stern - Professor of Law and Political Science and Pamela P. Fong and Family Distinguished Chair in China Studies, School of Law, University of California, Berkeley

‘In the twenty-first century, Asia will surely become another center for law and society scholarship. The inherent diversity of Asia will be further developed and conducive to future-oriented institutional experiments and knowledge innovation. From this point of view, the publication of The Asian Law and Society Reader is of great significance. I believe that it is the best introductory guide for Asian law and society research at this stage, and is also an indispensable reference for carrying out law and society education in Asian countries.’

Weidong Ji - University Professor of Humanities and Social Sciences, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, and President, China Institute for Socio-Legal Studies

‘This book examines the meaning and action of law in diverse Asian societies through a detailed examination of a wide range of issues. Readers will gain in-depth knowledge of various topics and will be able to read the universal significance of law and society studies in Asia.’

Yoshitaka Wada - Professor of Law, Faculty of Law, Waseda University, Tokyo

‘Grounded in rich empirical research, this volume extends the epistemological and methodological imagination of law and society. Intellectual conversations between empirical essays and insightful commentary reveal intellectual journeys of scholars and the field itself, achieving both a bird’s-eye view of the field and insights into the lives of ordinary people as they negotiate socio-legal realities on the ground.’

Yukiko Koga - Associate Professor of Anthropology, Yale University