Can you avoid any law you do not consent to? Can you avoid paying taxes by declaring yourself sovereign? Do courts operate under admiralty or maritime law? No. But welcome to the strange world of pseudolaw. This is the first-ever edited volume solely dedicated to examining pseudolaw and its most prominent adherents, sovereign citizens. Drawing on the expertise of judges, criminologists, legal theorists and political sociologists, this collection offers insights into the global growth and alarming adaptability of pseudolaw. While it might be tempting to laugh at the ridiculousness of pseudolaw, it is a serious matter. People who make these claims rob themselves of meaningful legal opportunities and impose great costs to themselves, the administration of justice, and the community. Pseudolaw is also linked to violent extremism and indicative of growing social insecurity. Part I offers ways to analyse and differentiate pseudolaw from other forms of conspiracy ideation and fringe legal interpretation. Part II examines the rise of sovereign citizens and the global spread of pseudolaw. Part III explores contemporary issues arising from pseudolaw, including the rise of far-right extremism, lay-persons in judicial proceedings, fake claims of indigeneity, and fraudulent 'get out of jail' schemes. It concludes by considering how we can respond to this phenomenon. - Publisher's website.
Formatted Contents Note
1. Understanding Pseudolaw
Part I: Theorising pseudolaw 2. Pseudolaw, folk law and natural law: how to tell the difference 3. Pseudolaw and legal fictions: vaccine mandate claims during the COVID-19 pandemic and future implications 4. Pseudolaw as utopia and legal smorgasbord 5. Failure to perform: how can theatre and performance studies help us understand conspiracy theories?
Part II: The operation and practice of pseudolaw around the globe 6. The rise of sovereign citizen pseudolaw in the United States of America 7. The sun only shines on YouTube: the marginal presence of pseudolaw in Canada 8. A kind of magic: pseudolaw in Australia 9. Asserting sovereignty: an empirical analysis of sovereign citizen litigation in Australian courts 10. 'Germanite is a rare mineral': sovereignism in Germany
Part III: Emerging areas and issues involving pseudolaw 11. American state nationals: the next iteration of the sovereign citizen movement 12. Traffic matters and pseudolaw: the big shakedown 13. The 'first nation medical board': a case study of pseudolegal parasitisation of legitimate indigenous sovereignty 14. Pseudolaw advocates: managing advocates who advance pseudolaw arguments 15. The paradox of pseudolaw and sovereign citizen ideology: vulnerability, malevolence and disengagement 16. Responding to pseudolaw.
