Publisher's Synopsis
This book addresses a set of intriguing and complex questions in the study of law and society. How does legislation affect the behavior of citizens? What role do attitudes play in rule following and under what conditions can legislation influence these attitudes? The book juxtaposes two approaches to this set of questions. The social working approach is an exercise in empirical sociology of law, seeking a behavioral explanation of rule- following. The communicative approach to legislation investigates legislation as a communication process in both an empirical and a normative sense. While these two approaches share common ground, for instance in their principled rejection of legal instrumentalism, they differ on other issues, such as the existence and importance of symbolic effects of legislation. The ensuing debate sheds light on the uses and dangers of legislation as an instrument of democratic governance under the rule of law.
