Brian Z. Tamanaha

Understanding Law in Micronesia: an Interpretive Approach to Transplanted Law (Studies in Human Society) Brian Z. Tamanaha

An examination of law in Micronesia from a unique perspective. It draws upon several branches of interpretive analysis, including mundane phenomenology, symbolic interactionism and cultural hermeneutics, to construct a comprehensive approach to transplanted systems of state law. Rather than the usual focus on legal norms and legal institutions, this approach directs attention to the law-related meaningful actions and understandings of legal actors and of non-legal actors. Application of this approach results in insights about law in Micronesia, as well as about law itself, and about the ideology of law. A range of subjects are addressed, from the nature of legal thinking to the autonomy of law. It is a work on legal theory grounded in psychological, sociological and anthropological observations and analysis.