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The Internal/External Distinction and the Notion of a “Practice” in Legal Theory and Sociolegal Studies

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 April 2024

Brian Z. Tamanaha
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This article analyzes the growing trend in legal and sociolegal theory to place a pivotal emphasis on the internal/external distinction. To provide a better understanding for the application of this distinction, the author elaborates on its origins in the philosophy of social sciences. Using detailed legal examples, he then develops a theory of a practice to help serve as an organizing concept for many applications of the distinction. Finally, applying this background and the notion of a practice, the author analyzes the different uses of the distinction in legal and sociolegal theory.

Type
Articles
Information
Law & Society Review , Volume 30 , Issue 1 , 1996 , pp. 163 - 204
Copyright
Copyright © 1996 by The Law and Society Association

Footnotes

This article is a modified version of chapter 6 of my forthcoming book, Realistic Sociolegal Theory: A Response to Postmodernism. I thank Elizabeth van Schilfgaarde and Roger Cotterrell for valuable criticisms of earlier drafts. The article was inspired by a presentation by Professor Cotterrell at Utrecht University; conversations with Jan Wijbe Oos-terkamp were very helpful in clarifying my ideas.

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