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Papers by Miguel Alvarez Ortega

Reservados todos los derechos. Ni la totalidad ni parte de este libro puede reproducirse o transm... more Reservados todos los derechos. Ni la totalidad ni parte de este libro puede reproducirse o transmitirse por ningún procedimiento electrónico o mecánico, incluyendo fotocopia, grabación magnética o cualquier almacenamiento de información y sistema de recuperación, sin permiso escrito

Books by Miguel Alvarez Ortega

Traditional Neighbors, Different Modernities. Bhutan, Sikkim and the Mon Region, 2024

The focus is put on the ideological narratives concerning the medieval and pre-modern legal past ... more The focus is put on the ideological narratives concerning the medieval and pre-modern legal past contemporarily developed by institutional bodies, and native scholarship and higher education. It is, therefore, not intended as a study of legal historyitself but of the self-(re)presentation of the medieval and pre-modern legal
past within the public spheres of these political entities. In what follows,
I shall lay out a brief summary of the scholarly research on the legal
past as an introductory background for the discourses of the branches of
government, local intellectuals, universities and other higher education
institutions. The study of each country is thus first presented separately,
inviting one to question and ponder common prima facie assumptions,
namely the identification of a narrative of disruption with the legal past in
the case of Sikkim and one of continuity in the case of Bhutan.
The final goal, addressed in the concluding section, is to compare
and try to understand the discourses of these two countries as strategical
answers to contemporary challenges related to nation-building and legal
efficacy in a globalized context. In this regard, considering the assumed
‘odious’ character of comparative enterprises6 and the understandable suspicion raised by a foreign perspective, it is probably appropriate to clarify
that this study prefers a descriptive or explicative approach, excluding any
prescriptive or evaluative pretensions on the self-representations of each
country considered both individually and comparatively.

Traditional Neighbors, Different Modernities. Bhutan, Sikkim and the Mon Region, 2024

Introduction: Sikkim, Bhutan, and the muddy business of (legal) comparison 'Comparing' is not onl... more Introduction: Sikkim, Bhutan, and the muddy business of (legal) comparison 'Comparing' is not only one of the major causes of psychological malaise as touted by the blooming business of self-help literature ('you are unique, do not compare yourself to others!'), but a significant philosophical issue with complex epistemological ramifications in the humanities and social sciences. The notion of cultural incommensurability, in which each sociocultural entity is a unique cadre providing values and meanings within its own boundaries and therefore is incomparable to others, has inhabited Western literature at least since nineteenth century European 1 My gratitude goes to Anna Balikci-Denjongpa and Mélanie Vandenhelsken for bringing my attention to Sikkimese customary law and generously making varied sources available; Saul Mullard for his discussion and inputs on early Sikkimese legal documents; Michael Peil and Michaela Windischgraetz for sharing their information on the JSK Law School and the Punakha Code; and Tashi Chopel for the access to the BA program in political science and sociology of Sherubtse College. I also appreciate the comments made by the reviewers of this paper. Needleless to say, any inaccuracies and flaws remain my sole responsibility.

Traditional Neighbors, Different Modernities. Bhutan, Sikkim and the Mon Region, 2024