Sida Liu on Against Digital Superstition: On the Pseudoscientific Development of the Sociology of Law in China (CLSR)

"Against Digital Superstition: On the Pseudoscientific Development of the Sociology of Law in China"
Sida Liu
China Law and Society Review
Published online: May 2025

Abstract: This article examines the current state of the sociology of law in China, which is characterized by pervasive digital superstition and a “scientific turn” towards quantitative methods. The article traces the historical development of the field, critically assesses the impact of digital technologies on sociolegal research, and scrutinizes the underlying causes of digital superstition, including academic incentives, technological advancements, and state control over data. In response to these issues, the article proposes alternative approaches to conducting sociolegal research in the era of digitalization, such as video observation and online ethnography, highlighting the significance of storytelling. The article advocates for a balanced and reflective approach to digitalization in Chinese sociology of law, emphasizing the potential for meaningful advancements in the field when digital technologies are employed judiciously and responsibly.

Sida Liu and Gihad Nasr on The City and the North: Canada in the Chicago School of Sociology (The American Sociologist)

"The City and the North: Canada in the Chicago School of Sociology"
Sida Liu, Gihad Nasr
The American Sociologist
Published online: June 2025

Abstract: This article explores the intertwined histories of the Chicago School of sociology and Canadian sociology, challenging the conventional view that the Chicago School’s development was confined to the city of Chicago. By examining the academic journeys of prominent Canadian scholars such as Annie Marion MacLean, Roderick McKenzie, Helen and Everett Hughes, and Erving Goffman, it illustrates how their contributions were instrumental in shaping both the Chicago School and Canadian sociology. This research, based on extensive archival materials from primary and secondary sources, suggests that the continuous mobility and interaction of scholars between Chicago and Canada played an important role in the historical evolution of sociological thought. The study aims to “decenter” the Chicago School by highlighting the significant yet often overlooked contributions of Canadian sociologists, thereby providing a new understanding of its legacy and global impact.

Suhong Yang on Legitimacy of International and Hybrid Criminal Tribunals: Political, Normative, Economic, and Sociological Perspectives (Denver Journal of International Law & Policy)

"Legitimacy of International and Hybrid Criminal Tribunals: Political, Normative, Economic, and Sociological Perspectives"
Suhong Yang (Global Academic Fellow)
Denver Journal of International Law & Policy, Issue 53:1, pp. 1 - 50
Published in March 2025

Abstract: This article examines the legitimacy of international and hybrid criminal tribunals that try atrocities crimes in post-conflict situations. It addresses legitimacy from political, normative, economic, and sociological perspectives. Political legitimacy focuses on the creation of authority. Normative legitimacy emphasizes the criteria for justifications, considering justice, independence, fairness, legality, and effectiveness as metrics. Economic legitimacy explores the cost, i.e., time and money, to address cases, as delayed or expensive justice suffers. Sociological legitimacy reflects the acceptance of the institution by the public, focusing on audiences’ perceptions of legitimacy. Multi-layered audiences make determinations about an institution’s legitimacy based on their cognitions, which may relate to their culture, identity, and knowledge. Eventually, the least legitimacy requirement asks for (1) a proper authority of creation, (2) well-defined justice the court pursues,  (3) process with fairness, (4) independent, unbiased, and competent adjudicators, and (5) a certain degree of public trust especially among the affected populations.

Sida Liu and Anson Au on Mobility Spaces: Geographical and Professional Distances in Career Mobility (JABS)

"Mobility Spaces: Geographical and Professional Distances in Career Mobility"
Sida Liu and Anson Au
Journal of Applied Behavioral Science
Published online: December 2024

Abstract: This article introduces the novel concept of “mobility spaces” to investigate the role of geographical and professional distances in career mobility and how they are influenced by social structural factors. Mobility spaces encompass physical, social, and legal spaces that professionals navigate while shaping their career trajectories over time. The study focuses on the movement of professionals across mobility spaces and examining the constraints and opportunities affecting their career paths. Using empirical data on the mobility of Hong Kong law firm partners from 1994 to 2021, the article demonstrates that social structural factors such as gender, race and ethnicity, firm origins, and firm prestige significantly influence the geographical and professional distances that professionals manage to traverse in their career moves. The mobility spaces theory aims to use space to contextualize the interplay between individual and macrostructural factors in shaping professional career outcomes.

New Chinese book by Sida Liu: Letters on Sociology of Law (Peking University Press)

法社會學信札(Letters on Sociology of Law)
劉思達(Sida Liu)
北京大學出版社(Peking University Press)
出版日期 (Publication date)：Nov 2024

簡介(Description): 本書採用類似於《波斯人信札》的書信文體，通過一位法科學生與一位社會學教授的書信對話，深入淺出地闡釋法律社會學的發展歷史和經典理論、法律社會學的研究方法、論述法律系統的社會結構與變遷以及一些經典實證研究等，並應用這些理論與方法對中國法律實踐的種種現實問題進行探討，在看似大相徑庭的學術知識之間建立起關聯。

本書不同於一般的學術專著和傳統教材，更像是一個學習法律社會學的路線圖。文后還按信件順序給出了參考文獻，讀者可以按圖索驥汲取更多營養，不必拘泥於某種對理論或者學術傳統的通常解釋。

除了介紹和解讀法社會學，還有一個面向，就是書信體帶來的“符號互動主義”的展現。通過兩個人的對話，使理論的源流、意涵和指向更清晰，同時也展示了年輕學者的一些學術人生中的困惑、掙扎與努力。而且通信的過程，就是不斷建構兩個人之間的關係，這種人與人之間的關係是一直動態變化着的。