Research Paper Number

44/2014

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

2014

Keywords

Legal Theory; Legal Pluralism; Globalization; Africa; Legal Education; Global South

Abstract

In this essay, it is contended that by welcoming a cosmopolitan discipline of law that encompasses 'all levels of social relations and legal orderings' (both dominant and peripheral) as well as by suggesting that the intellectual heritage of Western jurisprudence be adapted 'to the new predicament of global law', William Twining offers a platform to the world’s marginalized legal systems and formations to assert their relevance in the advancement of legal theory. In developing this argument, I will first examine what opportunities exist within Twining’s theorizing to reclaim and de-marginalize non-Western understandings of the law and its social value within the context of pluralism and globalisation. Secondly, I discuss what could be the lessons and implications of his proposals for a globalised legal theory on legal education and scholarship in the less dominant or 'subaltern' legal systems. I also suggest how scholars from subaltern territories could effectively insert their voices in the diversification and pluralization of global legal theory.

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