ABSTRACT
Thisvolumeinvestigateslawasastrugglerevealingcontestedstates ofgovernance,mind,andbeing.Thedualmeaningof"state"as"institutionalizedpoliticalorder"and"conditionofbeing"(cf.Cornaro££ andCornaro££1991:5)encouragesnewwaysofthinkingaboutlaw andpower.Wearguethattheoriesoflawandpoweridentifyingstates asinstitutionalizedpolitiesmustalsoconsiderthestrategiesthrough whichpeoplereshapeoppressivestatesofbeing.Asthecasestudies inthisvolumedemonstrate,peoplewhoareotherwisepoliticallymarginalgotocourtregularlytoresistdomination.FromPhiladelphiato Tonga,theyskillfullymanipulatelegalrhetoricincourtsandina varietyofothersitesofoppositionalpractice.Theircontestationsin andaroundlawshape,andareshapedby,hierarchiesofgender,class, race,ethnicity,religion,age,andcaste.Thevolume'sexamplesillustratethat,althoughgovernmentswieldtremendouspowertoencode andenforcelaw,acrucialpartofthepoweroflawisitsverycontestability.
