Batesmith, A orcid.org/0000-0002-0997-3154 and Stevens, J (2019) In the Absence of the Rule of Law: Everyday Lawyering, Dignity and Resistance in Myanmar's 'Disciplined Democracy'. Social & Legal Studies, 28 (5). pp. 573-599. ISSN 0964-6639
Abstract
This article explores how ‘everyday’ lawyers undertaking routine criminal defence cases navigate an authoritarian legal system. Based on original fieldwork in the ‘disciplined democracy’ of Myanmar, the article examines how hegemonic state power and a functional absence of the rule of law have created a culture of passivity among ordinary practitioners. ‘Everyday’ lawyers are nevertheless able to uphold their clients’ dignity by practical and material support for the individual human experience – and in so doing, subtly resist, evade or disrupt state power. The article draws upon the literature on the sociology of lawyering and resistance, arguing for a multilayered understanding of dignity going beyond lawyers’ contributions to their clients’ legal autonomy. Focusing on dignity provides an alternative perspective to the otherwise often all-consuming rule of law discourse. In authoritarian legal systems, enhancing their clients’ dignity beyond legal autonomy may be the only meaningful contribution that ‘everyday’ lawyers can make.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
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Authors/Creators: |
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Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | © The Author(s) 2018. This is an author produced version of an article, published in Social & Legal Studies. Uploaded in accordance with the publisher's self-archiving policy. |
Keywords: | Dignity; everyday resistance; hybrid and authoritarian regimes; law and development; lawyers and lawyering; Myanmar; Burma; rule of law; sociology of lawyering |
Dates: |
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Institution: | The University of Leeds |
Academic Units: | The University of Leeds > Faculty of Education, Social Sciences and Law (Leeds) > School of Law (Leeds) |
Depositing User: | Symplectic Publications |
Date Deposited: | 22 Oct 2021 15:52 |
Last Modified: | 17 May 2022 13:23 |
Status: | Published |
Publisher: | SAGE Publications |
Identification Number: | 10.1177/0964663918807739 |
Related URLs: | |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:179426 |