'We make the law and the law makes us' - Some ideas on a law in development research agenda

How much does law really matter in the lives of the poor! The article devel ops a relational theory of law as a politically determined resource that em erges from the interactions between agents of the state and collective soci al actors. On the one hand, law is a tool of social regulation used princip ally but not exclusively by the state. On the other hand, it is a social in stitution which exists as a set of practices, constantly shaping and being reshaped in a context of power relations and opportunities. it is argued th at the point of departure for research should be national or stale law inso far as it has empirical primacy over other regulatory orders. The slate int eracts with people's lives not just through its formal legal institutions b ur through a whole range of political and regulatory agencies which are sub ject to contestation and interpretation. These points are illustrated with cases concerning the legal regulation of social movements in the USA and Br azil.