The Constitution of Interests (English, John Brigham)

Product description Review John Brigham's work is always at the cutting edge of law and politics research. This book is the clearest statement yet of the newest research direction, one that takes as its key words, 'constitute,' 'discourse,' and 'practice.' -- Martin Shapiro,School of Law,University of California, BerkeleyIn the wake of legal realism, it has become commonplace to question the distinction between law and politics. Usually, this is accomplished by asserting that law is a creature of politics, with legal doctrines serving as a mere medium for the conveyance of normative political preferences. In The Constitution of Interests, however, Professor Brigham demonstrates that the causal arrow also points in the opposite direction. Political and ideological movements can be understood as products of the very legal concepts that they seek to transcend. Brigham's thesis is thoughtful, carefully constructed, and tantalizing in its implications. -- Girardeau A. Spann,Professor Law, Georgetown UniversityThe strengths of the book are many. The theme is well conceived and argued. It is thought provoking and informative. The author has done his homework. . . . [and] does a good job of weaving his theme from chapter to chapter. ― The Law and Politics Book ReviewHighly recommended. ― Choice From the Back Cover Clearly, the structure of authority in this country rests on how Americans understand the nature and relationship of law and politics. Law consists of pronouncements from the courts, but also of what we think of these pronouncements: should abortion be a choice or is it murder? Law is formed as much through the dynamic tensions that govern how these laws are received as through their official decree. Legal forms - contracts, property, rights - similarly do not reflect pre-existing or natural categories but themselves constitute social and political life because they dictate how we conceptualize our world. Even activists who seek reform inadvertently reinforce the traditional legal remedies against which they rally, oftentimes relying on legal institutions while claiming to be free of them. John Brigham's book focuses on four particular ideological movements and their strategies, including the emphasis placed by gay men on their rights during the legal struggle over the closing of gay bathhouses in the early years of the AIDS crisis and the radical feminist use of rage and radical consciousness in anti-pornography campaigns. The effect of law in politics, Brigham convincingly reveals, is constitutive precisely when political life finds its meaning in various legal forms. About the Author Author of The Cult of the Court, Civil Liberties, and American Democracy and several other books, JOHN BRIGHAM is Professor of Political Science at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. Read more