LAW AND POLITICS: A GENERAL OVERVIEW

Law and politics are two things which have been entwined since both have existed. The law
functions in relation to politics in three basic aspects, namely as a goal, a means, or an obstacle 1.
In this paper we shall focus on these three aspects of law and how it affects the politics of a land.
Certain laws or legal values can be described by politics as its goal. Hence politics and
politicians work towards achieving these goals. A lot of conflicts in society can also be resolved
if politics and law are intermingled. The form that interethnic conflict takes is dependent on
the political goals of the ethnic group, the political opportunity structures of the state where the
mobilization occurs, and the extent of international involvement in the dispute2. Hence law can
be construed as a goal for politics.
A lot of political interests can be achieved through law and the creation of new laws. Legislation,
as a source of law, is often highly political, and is the product of a process or the creation of
officials often closely bound into party politics3. In almost every country, politics is used to
mislead its people and misuse the legislation to favour their own means. Politics may involve
discrepancies in law creation but law poses as a means for politicians and world leaders to
basically have their own way, be it for the right reasons or the wrong.
Law may prove to be a worthy opponent against corrupt politicians also. Law can serve as a very
fine obstacle in the path of realising political goals. Politicians may have certain ideologies and
aims that they want to reach but law may prove to be a proficient red tape in their path that may
not allow them to reach those goals. This may prove to be beneficial to the public or may be
harmful. Certain good ideas and objectives of hardworking politicians may be lost in the
bureaucracy or some harmful advances of corrupt politics in play might be destroyed because of
the same level of bureaucracy.
Thus defined, politics and law represent two modes—both antagonistic and complementary—of
governing society4. In conclusion, law may prove to be very useful to a person indulging in
politics if one is patient and has good aims for the society. Otherwise law may prove to be a huge
pain for a politician who may want his own way or wants to proliferate his own success without
regarding the due process of the law.

BIBLIOGRAPHY
1
Dr. Miro Cecar, The Relationship Between Law and Politics, 15 ASICL, 19(2009)
2
ScienceDirect, https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/social-sciences/political-goal (last visited Nov 4, 2020)
3
About ‘Law in Politics, Politics in Law’, https://www.bloomsburyprofessional.com/uk/law-in-politics-politics-in-
law-9781849464734/ (last visited Nov 4, 2020)
4
Emmanuel Terray, Law versus Politics, Next Left Review (Nov 4, 2020, 5:06 pm),
https://newleftreview.org/issues/II22/articles/emmanuel-terray-law-versus-politics.pdf
1) WEBSITE: About ‘Law in Politics, Politics in Law’,
https://www.bloomsburyprofessional.com/uk/law-in-politics-politics-in-law-
9781849464734/ (last visited Nov 4, 2020)
2) ARTICLE: Dr. Miro Cecar, The Relationship Between Law and Politics, 15 ASICL,
19(2009)
3) BLOG: Emmanuel Terray, Law versus Politics, Next Left Review (Nov 4, 2020, 5:06
pm), https://newleftreview.org/issues/II22/articles/emmanuel-terray-law-versus-
politics.pdf
4) WEBSITE: ScienceDirect,
https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/social-sciences/political-goal (last visited Nov 4,
2020)

SHASHANK JAIN
BBA LLB SEC A
JGU ID 20011346