Mariana Valverde: scale, jurisdiction, and social justice

Drawing on Valverde’s concept of scale, this chapter argues that it is a useful way to scrutinise policies, laws, and governing actions. It argues that a major contribution of Valverde’s work, and particularly her concept of scale, is that it enables scholars to explore how regulation works in practice, by reflecting upon the important links between where and when something is governed, with how it is governed, and why it has been governed in that way. The chapter concludes by asserting that Valverde’s work can inspire other social justice projects, as it can be used as a methodological tool to generate more complex understandings of the multitude of ways that law governs people’s lives.