Nation-builders and market architects: How social origins mold the careers of law graduates over 200 years in Norway.
correspondence analysis
historical trends
juridical field
jurists
lawyers
social origin
Journal
The British journal of sociology
ISSN: 1468-4446
Titre abrégé: Br J Sociol
Pays: England
ID NLM: 0373126
Informations de publication
Date de publication:
27 Nov 2023
27 Nov 2023
Historique:
revised:
10
09
2023
received:
27
03
2023
accepted:
30
10
2023
pubmed:
27
11
2023
medline:
27
11
2023
entrez:
27
11
2023
Statut:
aheadofprint
Résumé
This paper examines the types of work that jurists have historically undertaken and maps how opportunities for legal practice have been shaped by social origins across three centuries: after constitutional independence in the mid-1800s, during industrial capitalism in the mid-1900s, and at present-day advanced capitalism. I analyze historical archive data on law graduates from the 19th and 20th centuries in combination with administrative registry data from the 1990s onwards and employ correspondence analysis to explore how social backgrounds shape careers, considering transformations in class structures and the changing significance of juridical expertise over time. Within each period, jurists have served in very different roles including those that craft and cater to the institutional make-up of the state and the markets. My analysis shows that the impact of social origin on occupational outcomes has undergone significant changes, mirroring shifts in the broader social structure; from the importance of legal and political capital (within regional jurisdictions) in the 19th century to the significance of economic capital as the main structuring principle, but also a greater significance of cultural capital, in contemporary times. The ability to reach the most powerful positions among law graduates-within the polity in the 19th century, and the economy in the 21st century-has been differently structured by origins. I argue that expansion of the student body, the declining standing of the university, and heightened differentiation of the social structure and the juridical field have made intimate familiarity with the business world pivotal for forging mutually beneficial alliances between jurists and the increasingly dominant capitalist class. Today, a select group of jurists have managed to connect with and contribute to the rising power of private capital. Thus, the historical tale of jurists cannot be accurately captured by notions of uniform descent from national power structures.
Identifiants
pubmed: 38010901
doi: 10.1111/1468-4446.13066
doi:
Types de publication
Journal Article
Langues
eng
Sous-ensembles de citation
IM
Subventions
Organisme : Norges Forskningsråd
Organisme : Research Council of Norway
ID : 275249
Informations de copyright
© 2023 The Authors. The British Journal of Sociology published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of London School of Economics and Political Science.
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