| Abstrakt: |
This paper presents an overview of the emergence and evolution of the concept and field of Law and Development. The concept of Law and Development covers a variety of aspects. These aspects acquire different meanings depending on different criteria and approaches. It depends on the geographical context, depends on the scope and meaning that is given to the concept of "development," and depends on whether a disciplinary or interdisciplinary approach is followed. The paper does not present the development of Law and Development as a historical sequence of stages or waves, but rather emphasizes simultaneity, cross-fertilization and dialogue, convergence and divergence, and hidden connections between approaches. It recognizes that there is no unique or "best" way to map and classify the various approaches to Law and Development and their respective abundant literature. There is no unique criterion neither to establish the scope and borders of this field. Fuzziness and overlap between categories and areas are unavoidable. The paper opted for a fundamental distinction between approaches on the basis of their scope, and taking the law as point of departure, as follows: national perspectives (the economics-oriented/institutionalist approach versus the anthropology- and sociology- oriented approach), international perspectives (public international law perspective and the Third World Approaches to International Law), the transnational approach, comparative Law and Development, and finally, approaches based on transnational thematic areas (human rights, sustainable development, and transitional/restorative justice and post-conflict law). From this mapping exercise, the author draws conclusions of two types: conclusions related to the object and scope of Law and Development, and conclusions related to the functioning of Law and Development as a community of scholars and practitioners. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] |
