Emanzipatorischer Rechtsstaat

Based on discussions between classical and emancipatory legal theories, this study analyses differences and tensions between state and non-state legal development in the Global South in order to determine whether law can contribute to foster the inclusion of excluded classes beyond the use of classical Welfare Law. The starting point is a sociological critique of the World Bank’s “Rule of Law” and its theoretical foundations. This critique is followed by an analysis and discussion, based on Bourdieu’s theory of praxis, of both the current Latin American legal discourses and the emancipatory potential and limits of theories of Legal Pluralism, using the case of Venezuela as an example. Constitutional production and its reception in terms of binding forces between the state’s law and the autonomous production of law in social fields are also empirically analysed. The study concludes with an outline of the potentialities of the combination of Praxeology, Marxist theory of Law and Legal Pluralism for an emancipatory understanding of the Law.