Jacques Lacan on Law

Why is the work of Jacques Lacan important to contemporary legal theory? What is Lacan's account of the nature and function of law? What is a 'Lacanian' legal theory? Costas Douzinas describes Lacanian psychoanalysis as 'the latest great frontier of jurisprudence'. This book analyzes the contemporary field of Lacanian legal theory -- both in terms of the Lacanian theorists that engage with law as an object of study, and the legal theorists that develop Lacanian psychoanalysis as an account of law. The book argues that while Lacanian theory is complex and challenging, it offers legal theory a new and important way to understand the symbolic structure of law and the subject's unconscious relation to it. The book examines Lacanian legal theory by using key theorists to illuminate fundamental themes in this field, such as the subject of law, the law of the symbolic order, and the nature of modern law.