Postcolonial Theory and Comparative Law: On the Methodological and Epistemological Benefits to Comparative Law through Postcolonial Theory.

Judith Schacherreiter

doi:10.5771/0506-7286-2016-3-291

Contents
- Chapter Expand | CollapseAuthorsPage
- 251–252 Titelei/Inhaltsverzeichnis 251–252
- 253–312 Abhandlungen / Articles 253–312
  - 253–262 Overcoming obstacles to North-South dialogue: Transformative constitutionalism and the fight against poverty and institutional failure Michaela Hailbronner Michaela Hailbronner 253–262
  - 263–277 In Verteidigung des Lokalen – Odd Details als globalisierungskritische Marker im Verfassungsvergleich Günter Frankenberg Günter Frankenberg 263–277
  - 278–290 Comparative Constitutional Law as a Social Science? A Hegelian Reaction to Ran Hirschl’s Comparative Matters Armin von Bogdandy Armin von Bogdandy 278–290
  - 291–312 Postcolonial Theory and Comparative Law: On the Methodological and Epistemological Benefits to Comparative Law through Postcolonial Theory. Judith Schacherreiter Judith Schacherreiter 291–312
- 313–326 Buchbesprechungen / Book Reviews 313–326
  - 313–315 Arnulf Becker Lorca, Mestizo International Law: A Global Intellectual History 1842–1933, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge 2015, 420 pages, £80.00, ISBN 978-0521763387 Marcus M. Payk Marcus M. Payk 313–315
  - 316–326 Mark Tushnet & Madhav Khosla (eds.), Unstable Constitutionalism: Law and Politics in South Asia, Cambridge University Press, New York, 2015, 414 pages, ISBN 9781107068957, £79.99 M.P. Singh M.P. Singh 316–326
- 327–338 Bibliographie / Bibliography 327–338
  - 327–330 AFRIKA /AFRICA 327–330
  - 330–332 ASIEN /ASIA 330–332
  - 332–334 LATEINAMERIKA / LATIN AMERICA 332–334
  - 334–338 NAHER UND MITTLERER OSTEN / NEAR AND MIDDLE EAST 334–338
Durchsuchen Sie das Werk
Geben Sie ein Keyword in die Suchleiste ein
No access

VRÜ Verfassung und Recht in Übersee , page 291 - 312

Postcolonial Theory and Comparative Law: On the Methodological and Epistemological Benefits to Comparative Law through Postcolonial Theory.

Autoren

Judith Schacherreiter

DOI
- doi.org/10.5771/0506-7286-2016-3-291
- ISSN: 0506-7286
- ISSN online: 2941-9603
Abstract

Working as a comparative lawyer means engaging with foreign law. In the process of comparing, the comparatist creates a relationship between the Self and the Other and tries to identify commonalities and differences. This always goes along with the danger of lapsing into an either-or dichotomy of ethnocentrism and cultural relativism. In comparative law we face the same danger. Either we use our own standards as if they were universal (ethnocentrism) or we abandon them completely to allow the Other the realization of its own world (cultural relativism). Postcolonial theory has shown that both ethnocentrism and cultural relativism impede the understanding of the Other and has suggested various possibilities for overcoming this either-or dichotomy. This article analyzes how comparative law can make use of these ideas, particularly regarding the use of universal standards, the comparative method and understanding, the classification of legal systems and legal transplants. Drawing from postcolonial ideas, the article argues that comparative lawyers should understand the relationship between the Self and the Other in terms of dialectic and hybridity rather than in terms of dichotomies and homogeneity. The comparison should be based on extensive engagement-but not identification-with the Other and self-critical analysis-but not abandonment-of our own standards. The aim is not a situation of perfect commensurability but rather to use the dialectic between the Self and the Other as a source of understanding.
Share