The Ordinary Affects of Law

Abstract

The article examines the affective dynamics of law in the everyday. It insists upon the importance of ‘the background’ for thinking about law. In the everyday cut and thrust of daily life, law tends to fade into the background. It becomes unobtrusive, functioning from the background by structuring the capacity to act. In other words, it functions affectively. Key to law’s functioning is its ability to also move out from the background in certain crucial moments. In this it becomes obtrusive, taking centre stage in such a way that its former position in the background becomes imperceptible. The movements from background to foreground and back again are essential to begin to grasp the manner in which law functions with and through affect. Using the work of Kathleen Stewart, Hans Lindahl and Andreas Philippopoulos-Mihalopoulos the article insists upon the importance of the affective dynamics of law. Developing the idea of nestled affects helps us to understand the movements from background to foreground.