Reclaiming conflict: towards a sociological critique of democratic law in the neoliberal conjuncture

This article tries to elaborate a sociological critique of democratic law by addressing the transformations that have reshaped representative democracy under neoliberal restructuring. Drawing upon the conceptual legacy of classical sociology, it analyses the progressive displacement of political conflict from institutional arenas and its reconfiguration within juridical and technocratic domains. Depoliticisation is conceived not as a retreat of politics but as a reorganisation of authority through the neutralisation of antagonism. Neoliberal legality functions as a moral and managerial technology that fragments collective agency, individualises responsibility, and reframes dissent as deviance. The article contends that law simultaneously legitimises the retreat of democratic contestation under the guise of neutrality and provides the symbolic infrastructure for the governance of dissent. By engaging with classical and contemporary sociological theory, critical legal studies, and the semiotics of power, the paper conceptualises the neoliberal legal order as a site of democratic regression. It concludes by outlining the foundations of a critical theory of democratic law, centred on conflict, reciprocity, and recognition.