The Incorporation Problem in Interdisciplinary Legal Research: Some Conceptual Issues and a Practical Illustration
14 Pages Posted: 9 Oct 2014
There are 2 versions of this paper
The Incorporation Problem in Interdisciplinary Legal Research: Some Conceptual Issues and a Practical Illustration
The Incorporation Problem in Interdisciplinary Legal Research: Some Conceptual Issues and a Practical Illustration
Date Written: October 9, 2014
Abstract
The nature of the incorporation problem in interdisciplinary legal research, this article argues, depends on how the discipline of legal research is understood. If legal research is understood as a single, inherently interdisciplinary discipline, the incorporation of other disciplines into legal research is what legal researchers have over the last forty years already successfully been doing. If, on the other hand, legal research is best conceived as a multi-disciplinary field, consisting of a core discipline – doctrinal research – and various other types of mono-disciplinary and interdisciplinary research, the incorporation of other disciplines presents real difficulties. For legal academics engaged in socio-legal research, in particular, two problems arise: the practical problem of trying to address a legal-professional and academic audience at the same time, and the philosophical problem of trying to integrate the internal, participatory perspective of doctrinal research with the external perspective of other disciplines. In the final part of the article, these practical and philosophical difficulties are illustrated by reference to the author’s own research on the politics of judicial review in new democracies.
Keywords: interdisciplinary, legal research, incorporation problem
Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation