Empirical Legal Studies Before 1940: A Bibliographic Essay

The modern empirical legal studies movement has well-known antecedents in the law and society and law and economics traditions of the latter half of the 20th century. Less well known is the body of empirical research on legal phenomena from the period prior to World War II. This paper is an extensive bibliographic essay that surveys the English language empirical legal research from approximately 1940 and earlier. The essay is arranged around the themes in the research: criminal justice, civil justice (general studies of civil litigation, auto accident litigation and compensation, divorce, small claims, jurisdiction and procedure, civil juries), debt and bankruptcy, banking, appellate courts, legal needs, legal profession (including legal education), and judicial staffing and selection. Accompanying the essay is an extensive bibliography of research articles, books, and reports

American Public Policy

x,291 hlm.; 24 c

Democracy at risk: the politics of economic renewal

xv+238hlm.;22c

THE DECAY OF LIBERAL DEMOCRACY

Liberal democracy is decaying because its values have been carried to excess or are obsolete for effectively addressing society's contemporary challenges. The loss of American military, technological, and economic hegemony-through the rise of competitors and increased interdependence-has threatened the nation's sense of ideological superiority, social coherence, and purpose. The prospects for a democratic renewal will require first, an enabling crisis that calls into question the existing social order, particularly capitalism, and the liberal values on which it is legitimated. Second, a broad-based popular movement would have to emerge that supports a redirection in the value structure, social relationships, and the public policy agenda. The essay concludes with concrete recommendations for reforming political institutions and new policies that would move us along such a path. Copyright 1990 by The Policy Studies Organization.

American politics: politics, power, and change

+506hlm.;27c