Sociology of Law and the Challenge of the Current Financial Crisis

Abstract

The current crisis is, to a significant extent, a cognitive crisis. What is at stake is the development of a thorough understanding of what is going on, and finding ways to make the results of this analytical effort accessible to as many people involved as possible. Sociology of Law has an obvious role to play in these efforts. Issues such as the relationship between economy, politics, and law on the one hand, and the way people construct practically relevant knowledge in complex societies on the other, have a long tradition in our domain. The crisis also has a severe impact on the conditions under which we carry out our research business. So our work on these topics should also be conceived as part of a broader effort in the defence of science in the culture of world society, which corresponds exactly to the initial vocation of the RCSL.