Divided into three parts, this book examines the relationship between law and culture from various perspectives, both theoretical and empirical. Part I outlines the framework for further considerations and includes new, innovative conceptualizations of two ideas that are essential to the topic of law and culture: legal culture and customary law. Both of these reappear later in the more empirically oriented chapters of Parts II and III. Part II includes chapters on the relationships between law, customs, and culture, drawing heavily on the tradition and achievements of the anthropology of law and touching on important problems of multiculturalism, legal pluralism, and cultural defense. It focuses on the more intangible meaning of culture, while Part III addresses its more material, tangible aspects and the issue of cultural production, as well as its intersection with law.
"Stepien and Klakla ... have published an edited volume on the topic of 'law and culture'. They offer original re-conceptualizations of legal culture and customary law, as well as case studies, strongly supported by empirical methods, on the relationships between law and culture. ... One of the strengths of the book is that it includes a variety of cases from different countries, cultures, traditions and legal systems. ... This variety enriches the topics and increases the value of the book." (Rafif Zarea, International Journal for the Semiotics of Law, Vol. 35, 2022)