Order without Law: How Neighbors Settle Disputes
Uses theory and ethnography to explain norms in a manner that sociologists would do well to imitate. [Ellickson] presents evidence in an objective style that allows readers to reach their own verdicts, and his skillful storytelling accentuates his theoretical acumen. (Jason JimersonAmerican Journal of Sociology)A welcome addition to the new literature on conflict, law, and informal social control in contemporary societies... [Order without Law] constitutes one of the most eloquent and powerful attacks yet on the widespread belief that government lies at the heart of social order in the modern world. (M. P. BaumgartnerContemporary Sociology)"[A] fascinating book... Ellickson's clean prose and considerate rhetorical style are refreshing. (William FischelLand Economics)This immensely interesting, wide-ranging, well-written, learned, and contentious book--a superb analysis of extralegal regulation--will command a large readership among academic lawyers and social scientists, and may in the fullness of time come to be regarded as a classic of interdisciplinary legal scholarship. (Richard A. Posner, Judge, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit)