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(Gurvitch, 1947: 241; for a similar conclu- professional interest is a powerful incentive
sion see Habermas, 1996: 66). for individual researchers in academic fields
If sociology and jurisprudence can com- such as law and sociology, but leads to disci-
plement each other, why do they not join plinary isolation once each discipline has
forces to establish the science of law? developed its own ‘stakes’ and internal
Possible answers to this question can be ‘structure of the distribution of the specific
found by examining, as we did in Part One, capital’ (Bourdieu, 2004: 59). Law and
sociological and legal epistemes and demon- sociology have long established their own
strating that law and sociology make sense academic forms of capital that exist inde-
of, and orient themselves towards, the social pendently of the ‘stakes’ in other fields of
world using different sets of concepts and research, and this relieves them of the need to
ideas. Irreconcilable as these sociological compete with each other. The preoccupation
and legal ideas might appear on the surface, of academic lawyers and mainstream sociolo-
they all represent forms of knowledge gists with their own ‘scientific stakes’ has
acquired by observing and examining the been at the expense of paying sufficient
social (rather than physical or supernatural) attention to epistemological debates and
conditions. Why is it then that the epistemic exchanges, which form the interdisciplinary
tensions nonetheless appear to pose insur- lifeline of socio-legal research.
mountable obstacles to bringing law and Socio-legal research appears to have no
sociology together? To answer this question, alternative but to create and establish its own
we need to consider the politics of academia forms of capital, which will potentially trans-
in addition to the epistemic differences. For form it into a discrete discipline independent
example, why could H. L. A. Hart not admit of law and sociology. However, the most
that he had read Max Weber on Law in valuable asset of socio-legal research lies in
Economy and Society and was indebted to its ability to offer an added value to both law
Weber for his internal account of legal rules and sociology by highlighting issues that nei-
(Lacey, 2004)? Also, why do some promi- ther law nor sociology can articulate or study
nent philosophers of law, such as Dworkin, alone. Also, it can provide this added value as
regard sociological and historical studies of long as it remains an interdisciplinary space
law which view the law from without as ‘per- which offers relief from the methodological
verse’, while failing to recognize that internal constraints of other disciplines (Banakar and
studies of the law which ignore questions Travers, 2005). Thus, socio-legal research
about the social properties of the law and the finds itself in a paradoxical situation. It needs
external manifestations of the law are also to create its own ‘scientific stakes’ in order to
‘impoverished and defective’ (Dworkin, become independent of both law and sociol-
1986: 14)? I suggest here that the answers to ogy, which are no longer interested in episte-
these questions reveal as much about the con- mological confrontations. At the same time,
struction and distribution of ‘scientific it needs to safeguard its interdisciplinary
stakes’ in academia (Bourdieu, 1975) as character in order to continue the epistemo-
about the theoretical make-up of sociology, logical debates which law and sociology no
legal studies and jurisprudence. The tension longer pursue. This paradoxical situation
between law and sociology is, thus, as much brings uncertainty to socio-legal research,
about academic competition between disci- discouraging those who seek the academic
plines and fields of research as about epis- security and identity of established disci-
temic conflicts. plines, but posing an exciting challenge to
Academic competition should be viewed those who wish to explore the socio-legal
in the context of power relations in academia issues which lie beyond the disciplinary
and as a means of obtaining or maintaining boundaries of law and sociology. Socio-legal
access to financial resources, such as fund- research is still in the initial stages of its
ing, grants, posts, contracts, etc. This type of development. The realization of this paradox