FORMATION OF LAW: THE POLITICAL DIMENSION

Abstract

This article examines the transformation of law through the lens of political competition and structural shifts in the socio-economic order. The study addresses the growing need to reconceptualize law not as a fixed system of universal norms, but as a flexible institutional mechanism shaped by changing configurations of power and resource distribution. As societies transition from agrarian to industrial and later to post-industrial or digital models, the actors capable of influencing legal norm creation also change. Against this backdrop, traditional views of law as a neutral, abstract framework are becoming insufficient for explaining how norms emerge, function, and evolve.
The research draws upon integrative, institutional, and dialectical approaches to view law as a product of social interaction, power asymmetry, and the functional relevance of organized groups. It argues that legal norms are not sole-ly the result of legislative intent or political will, but are deeply rooted in the structural dynamics of competition among social actors with varying access to economic, technological, symbolic, or organizational resources. These dynamics shape which norms gain legitimacy and which become obsolete or marginalized.
The article further demonstrates that law performs a dual function: as a tool of social adaptation to new political and economic realities, and as a stabilizing force that legitimizes and codifies asymmetrical power relations. Democratic mechanisms such as representation, voting rights, and access to legal protection are presented not as linear advance-ments, but as institutional responses to organized social pressure from groups whose roles are essential to maintaining systemic continuity.
Over different historical periods, the legal recognition of particular groups has been closely tied to their capacity for collective action and their systemic indispensability. In the post-industrial context, legal systems become increasing-ly fragmented, reflecting differentiated infrastructural access to mechanisms of resource allocation and norm-setting.
The study concludes that contemporary law is less a universal expression of equality and more a structured legit-imization of newly configured power balances. It functions as both a reflection and a reinforcement of existing hierar-chies, embedded within the legal order under the guise of neutrality and universality.