Books & ideas

The Limits of Religious Freedom

Ophélie Desmons — 2025-10-16T12:00:00Z

The separation of church and state is a principle that is often difficult to apply. In some cases, a delicate balance must be struck between religious freedom and equality.

How to dissent

Frédéric Martel — 2025-02-04T07:30:00Z

In this recent interview, Walzer reflects on his life of political commitment. From the creation of Dissent to the publication of the acclaimed Spheres of Justice, here is the journey of one of the most influential political theorists of the XXth century.

The Vagaries of the Judiciary

Rachel Vanneuville — 2024-07-11T12:24:38Z

How can we explain the variations between judicial decisions in criminal matters? Using the method of natural experiment, economist Arnaud Philippe sets out to identify the factors that influence decisions and determine criminal sanctions. At the risk of forgetting sociology?

The Planet in Court

Carola Klöck — 2023-10-03T07:30:00Z

The growing number of legal cases concerning climate inaction marks another step in the fight to protect the environment. What are these cases? Who are the accused? Are their effects only symbolic?

The Cleaver and the Hussar

Michel Porret — 2023-07-20T07:30:00Z

Can the law be broken to maintain public order? This is the question addressed in a remarkable comparative work on vigilantism and ‘rough justice' in the security era.

Homo reparans

Magali Bessone — 2023-07-13T05:00:00Z

Reparation, Johann Michel explains, is not just a moral principle dictated by our sense of justice. More fundamentally, it is an anthropological constant, through which we try to mitigate our inherent vulnerability.

Racist Violence before the Law

Magda Boutros — 2023-04-25T19:11:26Z

French law defines racism in terms of discourses, not actions. Based on an analysis of 731 crimes, R. Brahim shows how physical violence is compounded by psychological violence when the legislative and judicial system denies or downplays the racist nature of the crimes.

The Political Uses of Law

Pierre Auriel — 2023-01-31T08:30:00Z

From the landmark Bobigny abortion trial to the Affaire du Siècle climate justice campaign, can the law serve as an effective political tool for social struggles? Countering the image of a fundamentally conservative law, the sociologist Liora Israël looks back at the strategic uses of the law by the French left after 1968.

Why Has Racial Justice Still Not Been Achieved?

Editorial Team — 2020-06-08T07:00:00Z

As protests against racism break out all over the world following the murder of George Floyd, Books & Ideas gathers a selection of texts examining the history of these multifaceted discriminations and of the struggles for racial justice.

Toxic Urban Land

Pascal Marichalar — 2019-06-10T07:00:00Z

Urban soil endures ubiquitous and serious pollution from past industrial activities. This pollution is invisible and undifferentiated, which invites us to amend theories of environmental justice.