Mathieu Deflem
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The following writings, authored and/or edited by Mathieu Deflem, are influenced by or directly address the work of Jürgen Habermas (1929-2026). The German philosopher and sociologist was well-known for his ideas of communicative rationality and Enlightenment, especially during political, economic, and cultural crises. Particularly addressed in my Habermas-related work are themes in the sociological study of law and legal theory, social control, democracy, and rights.
Habermas, Modernity and Law. Edited by M. Deflem. Sage Publications, 1996. Includes a postscript by Jürgen Habermas.
The Legal Theory of Jürgen Habermas. Pp. 70-95 in Law and Social Theory, Second Edition, edited by Reza Banakar and Max Travers. Oxford, UK: Hart Publishing, 2013.
Indonesian translation: Teori Hukum Jürgen Habermas, January 2020.
The Boundaries of Abortion Law: Systems Theory from Parsons to Luhmann and Habermas. Social Forces 76(3):775-818, 1998.
Russian summary translation: Cистемная Теория От Парсонса До Лумана И Хабермаса (Границы Закона Об Абортах), 1999.Law in Habermas’s Theory of Communicative Action. Introduction to Habermas, Modernity and Law, edited by M. Deflem. Sage Publications 1996.
Turkish translation: Habermas’in Iletişimsel Eylem Kurami’nda Hukuk, 2014.
Chinese translation: 导论：哈贝马斯交往行为理论中的法律思想, 2005.
Profit and Penality: An Analysis of the Corrections-Commercial Complex (with J. Robert Lilly). Crime and Delinquency 42(1):3-20, 1996.
Corruption, Law and Justice: A Conceptual Clarification. Journal of Criminal Justice 23(3):243-258, 1995.
Théorie du Discours, Droit Pénal, et Criminologie. Déviance et Société 19(4):325-338, 1995.
Social Control and the Theory of Communicative Action. International Journal of the Sociology of Law 22, 1994.
Jürgen Habermas --Pflegevater oder Sorgenkind der abolitionistischen Perspektive? Kriminologisches Journal 24(2):82-97, 1994.
Kritische Theorie, Misdaad en (De)Criminalisering: Jürgen Habermas als Criminoloog? Panopticon 12:330-351, 1991.
Democracy and Legitimation
Racial Justice Activism and Democracy: The Deliberative Role of Black Women Athletes (with Brandii Brunson). In Democracy, Governance, and Law, ed. M. Deflem, 2025.
The Spirit of Democracies. Introduction to Democracy, Governance, and Law, edited by Mathieu Deflem, 2025.
The Cancer of the Law in the Islamic Republic of Iran: Reflections on the Iranian Anti-Israel Law of 2020. Pp. 319-329 in Combining the Legal and the Social in Sociology of Law, edited by Håkan Hydén, et al., 2023.
The Sociological Discourse on Human Rights: Lessons from the Sociology of Law (with Stephen Chicoine). Development and Society 40(1):101-115, June 2011.
Sociology of Law: Visions of a Scholarly Tradition. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 2008.
The Myth of Post-National Identity: Popular Support for European Unification (with Fred C. Pampel). Social Forces 75(1):119-143, 1996.
Some Additional Works
Authored by Jürgen Habermas: Georg Simmel on Philosophy and Culture: Postscript to a Collection of Essays. Translated by Mathieu Deflem. Critical Inquiry 22(3):403-414, 1996.
Habermas in 1953: Mit Heidegger Gegen Heidegger Denken (picture I & picture II). Copy of Habermas's original essay in Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, July 25, 1953.
Habermas in 2023: Principles of Solidarity: A Statement. (Auf Deutsch: Grundsätze der Solidarität. Eine Stellungnahme.) Co-authored by Nicole Deitelhoff, Rainer Forst, Klaus Günther, and Jürgen Habermas. Published in Normative Orders, November 13, 2023.
One last time, Habermas: From Here On, We Must Go It Alone. K., November 30, 2025.
In the Wayback Machine: HabermasOnline.org - Archive of a website I maintained from 1999 until 2003.
Online resource: Habermas Forum - Excellent site with many sources about and by Habermas.
See related publications on theory and sociology of law.
