Legal Unification and Nation Building in the Post-Colonial World: A Comparison of Israel and India

The Journal of Comparative Asian Development, Vol. 8, No. 2, pp. 273-297, Fall 2009

25 Pages Posted: 29 Jan 2010 Last revised: 22 Mar 2010

See all articles by Yuksel Sezgin

Yuksel Sezgin

Syracuse University - Department of Political Science

Date Written: 2009

Abstract

How do states consolidate their legal systems? Do all states follow the same trajectory of state-building and legal unification? And, particularly how do post-colonial states respond to legally pluralistic regimes that they inherit at the time of independence? These are some of the questions that this article will attempt to shed light upon by closely analyzing the Israeli and Indian states’ responses to polycentric legal systems that they inherited at the time of their independence. Offering an alternative theory of state-building and legal unification, the present study will not only explain how leaders of these two countries responded to the challenges posed by polycentric jurisdictions but also contribute to our understanding of state, nation-building and legal consolidation in the post-colonial world by re-examining some of the theories and approaches that have long come to dominate the literature.

Keywords: Legal unification, legal pluralism, personal law, nation-building, state-building, post-colonial state, Israel, India

Suggested Citation

Sezgin, Yuksel, Legal Unification and Nation Building in the Post-Colonial World: A Comparison of Israel and India (2009). The Journal of Comparative Asian Development, Vol. 8, No. 2, pp. 273-297, Fall 2009, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=1524403 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.1524403

Yuksel Sezgin (Contact Author)

Syracuse University - Department of Political Science ( email )

100 Eggers Hall
Syracuse, NY 13244-0001
United States
3154434431 (Phone)

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