Culture(s) of Law. Legal Theory beyond Luhmann

• Applicants: Professor Dr. Ino Augsberg; Professor Dr. Thomas Vesting
• Subject Area: Principles of Law and Jurisprudence
• Term: since 2020
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 429659714

This research project aims to examine from the double perspective of Brazilian and German jurisprudence the role of culture in the new conception of a legal theory under the conditions of globalized societies. On the one hand, culture is understood as a phenomenon that undermines the functional differentiation of society. On the other hand, however, it is not simply assumed as a fixed fact, but understood as a social practice that can only be determined more precisely in (and as) a comparison of different (legal) cultures.The starting point is Niklas Luhmann's conception of law and society, which has been well received both in Germany and in Brazil. It does not know an independent concept of culture, but is based on a sharp functional differentiation of modern society. In its context, there seems to be no longer any room for a model of "culture" that overarches or undermines functional specialization. In contrast, the hypothesis for the research project of the participating German and Brazilian scholars is that a legal theory informed by cultural studies can cast doubt on this widespread model of society and the idea of an autonomous law that correlates with it. Instead of insisting on the rigid separation of the individual areas of society, this theory of law will pay more attention to permanent border crossings and border shifts between the allegedly sharply separated social subsystems and ask about their characteristics, causes and functions. We intend to jointly develop some initial general approaches and individual facets of such a legal theory. The special feature of this approach is that it does not simply presuppose its own central concept of culture as a concept that is as universal as it is fixed. Rather, the research project is based on the assumption that culture and language exist only in the plural and that culture is essentially a practice of comparison. For this reason, culture can always be thought of from the point of difference. This operative rather than substantial understanding of culture shows its added value precisely in intercultural cooperation: what is understood in the study as culture can only emerge in detail from the comparative perspective of Brazilian and German scholars. In this perspective, culture and law stand in a reciprocal relationship. What the "culture of law" can achieve as a legal-theoretical figure becomes clear only against the background of the different cultures of law - which in turn are shaped by different legal-theoretical traditions.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants
• International Connection: Brazil
• Partner Organisation: Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior; (CAPES); Setor bancario Norte
• Co-Investigators: Professor Dr. Andreas von Arnauld; Ricardo Campos; Professor Dr. Thomas Duve; Professorin Dr. Sabine Müller-Mall; Professor Dr. Dan Wielsch
• Cooperation Partners: Professor Dr. Joao Mauricio Adeodato; Professor Dr. Joao Paulo Bachur; Professor Dr. Samuel Rodriques Barbosa; Professor Dr. Akexabdre da Maia; Professor Dr. Juliano Maranhao; Professor Dr. Pedro Pariri; Professor Dr. Ari Solon; Professor Dr. Sergio Victor