Introduction

Legal pluralism presents a complex theory of legal change, rendering any simple definition problematic. For the purposes of this introduction however, we may say that legal pluralism involves the presence of different legal traditions and institutions within a single political framework such as a state, thereby raising problems about how laws might be enforced and recognizing the prospect of contradictory traditions. The analysis of legal pluralism is often associated in modern legal theory with both the impact of globalization and with the cultural consequence of postmodernism. These two aspects are often combined into a single argument. It is argued that, with the rise of nation states through much of the nineteenth century, the sovereignty of states became a major issue leading to the development of modern taxation systems, a common language for the public domain, and the assertion of a single and integrated legal system. This rationalization of the law typically involved a critique of customary legal traditions. A unified sovereign state required a rational system of law based on the authority of secular courts with the backing of the state apparatus. With the growing intensity of globalization, it is now claimed that states have become more porous and more interconnected in global economic networks. The consequence is that states have to embrace legal pluralism arising from international laws on trade, labor laws, human rights legislation, and the workings of international courts such as the court of criminal justice and the European Court of Human Rights.