Trajectories of legal entanglement examples from Indonesia, Nepal, and Thailand

Abstract

Globalization comes with law and law comes with actors. The manner in which law travels is rarely a matter of straightforward reception, but involves processes of translation, adjustment, and capturing by a diverse range of actors. This paper looks at some systemic features of legal pluralism to pursue two aims. One is to show that Southeast Asia has centuries long histories in which religious and secular laws have become entangled with local legal orders. These histories show a multitude of trajectories depending on specific political constellations from the time of introduction onwards. The trajectories are also a result of degrees to which introduced law was (in)compatible with locally existing laws. A second aim is to highlight how intensified globalization has brought new actors on the stage. The dynamic negotiation and translating processes that occur generate shifting legal landscapes with new entanglements. Such shifting plural legal orders form the conditions under which people pursue their interests.