2025
Constructing normality: Symbolic power and the social representations of vague legal concepts
SMEJKALOVÁ, TerezieZákladní údaje
Originální název
Constructing normality: Symbolic power and the social representations of vague legal concepts
Autoři
Vydání
CIRS 2025, 2025
Další údaje
Jazyk
angličtina
Typ výsledku
Prezentace na konferencích
Obor
50500 5.5 Law
Utajení
není předmětem státního či obchodního tajemství
Označené pro přenos do RIV
Ne
Organizační jednotka
Právnická fakulta
Klíčová slova anglicky
social representation; symbolic power; vague legal concepts; normality; ideology; power; tensions
Změněno: 10. 3. 2026 16:48, Mgr. Petra Georgala
Anotace
V originále
This paper explores the pivotal role of power—and the inherent conflicts and tensions it generates—in the social representations of vague legal concepts. Social representations theory sees concepts as socially constructed systems of knowledge and understanding (Moscovici, 2001) that may be approached structurally. Moscovici (2001) and Abric (1993) suggest that the core of the representation is “normative”; it functions as its system of organization. However, this core is not merely a stable repository of shared meanings but a site of power struggles, where competing interests vie to define and legitimize particular understandings of vague legal concepts. These power dynamics introduce significant tensions into the process of representation, as dominant groups leverage symbolic capital to impose their perspectives, often masking these efforts as neutral or value-free. Such masking obscures the inherently ideological nature of “normality” and legal categorization, which are frequently sites of contestation. To unpack these tensions, I will bring together Bourdieu’s notion of symbolic power (Bourdieu 1986) and its role in constructing meaning in law with social representations theory. By examining the vague legal concepts of “public order” and “dignity of a judge,” (as explored by Smejkalová et al. 2024 and Palíšek et al. 2024, preprint) I will demonstrate how power imbalances and societal conflicts influence legal conceptualization. These examples will reveal how struggles over meaning are not only shaped by societal norms but also actively contribute to their reinforcement or transformation. The findings contribute to a deeper comprehension of how collective understandings of legal phenomena are constructed, contested, and stabilized in social groups. By foregrounding the conflicts and tensions inherent in the social representations of law, this paper offers new insights into the role of symbolic power in shaping societal norms and maintaining or challenging existing power structures.
Návaznosti
| MUNI/A/1633/2024, interní kód MU |
|