Gunther Teubner Libri

The present debate in legal theory is dominated by an unfruitful schism. On the one hand, analytical theories are concerned with the positivity of law, running the risk of missing the law's relation to society. On the other hand, sociological approaches analyze all sorts of social interactions of law, but have developed no conceptual tools to do justice to the autonomy of law. The theory of autopoiesis offers law a chance of getting round the falsely posed alternative between an autonomous rule system or a socially conditioned decision-making process. It is a theory of law that sees the law's autonomy in the self-reproduction of a communication network and understands its relation to society as interference with other autonomous communication networks. Building on the ideas of Humberto Maturana, Heinz von Foerster and Niklas Luhmann, Gunther Teubner uses the concepts of self-organization and autopoiesis to develop a concept of law as a hypercyclically closed social system. This book will stand as a landmark in legal theory and become a standard point of departure in the sociology of law.

Crime is a source of endless fascination and fear. Yet behind the apparent consensus that crime must be fought, there is considerable conflict about what should or should not be treated as criminal, and even the most shocking crimes can inspire divisive debate.

The powerful private sectors of the world economy remain unconstrained by fundamental constitutional rules, leading to human rights abuses on a massive scale. This book examines how the values of constitutional governance can be applied to the private sphere in the modern world, through a network of constitutional fragments.

Offering a comprehensive overview of Jurisprudence and Legal Theory, this book guides readers through a diverse range of legal perspectives. It covers both traditional theories like Natural Law and contemporary approaches including Feminist Theory, Economic Analysis of Law, and Foucault's insights on law. The structured course of study is designed to make complex concepts accessible, making it an ideal resource for those seeking to understand the evolution and breadth of legal thought.

Law and order has become a key issue throughout the world. Crime stories saturate the mass media and politicians shrilly compete with each other in a race to be the toughest on crime. Prisons are crammed to bursting point, and police powers and resources extended repeatedly.

This book covers the history of the police, the sociology of policing, and the law and politics of the police. From Clint Eastwood's Dirty Harry to Life on Mars, Robert Reiner explores the highly-charged debates that surround policing and analyses the proposals for reform.