Cover -- Half-title -- Title -- Copyright -- Dedication -- Contents -- Acknowledgements -- Introduction -- 1 The theoretical foundations of constructivism and its treatment of law -- Introduction -- ONUF -- Introduction -- Rules -- Agency -- International law -- Conclusion -- KRATOCHWIL -- Introduction -- Intersubjectivity -- Change -- The causal power of norms -- Kratochwil and the law -- International law -- Conclusion -- 2 Challenging the common sense idea of law -- Introduction: setting the scene -- The common sense view of law -- Formalism -- Legal reasoning in the common sense idea of law -- Syllogism and deductive reasoning -- Reasoning by analogy -- Precedent -- Flexibility and legal Reasoning: how legal reasoning actually works -- Anti-formalism and the middle way -- Conclusion: how to understand law -- 3 Introducing critical jurisprudence -- Introduction -- The sociological movement -- From sociological to 'critical' approaches -- Marxism and the conflict model of society -- Re-imagining a Marxist theory of law -- Critical legal studies -- Legal indeterminacy -- Feminism: critical jurisprudence in action -- Conclusion -- 4 Brown, desegregation and racism in America: the myth and reality of law's ability to solve complex social problems -- Introduction -- The 'story' of Brown -- The NAACP's litigation strategy -- A direct attack on Plessy: beyond 'separate but equal' -- The case and the opinion -- Explaining Brown -- Brown and civil rights reform: a different reading of Brown -- The courts and social change -- Brown and the law -- Conclusion -- 5 Constructing rape: defining the problem and finding the solution -- Introduction -- The problem with rape -- The 1970s and 1980s: treatment of complainants -- New Labour reform: the preoccupation with conviction rates -- Reform -- Attrition rates -- Competing narratives of the rape problem.

Feminist interpretations -- Third phase feminism -- Conclusion -- 6 Law and normative backsliding: torture since 9/11 -- Introduction -- The evolution of constructivism -- Theories of norm evolution post-9/11 -- Norm evolution as a ratchet -- The role of law in normative backsliding -- Conclusion -- Conclusion -- Bibliography -- Index.