Normative Authority in the Context of Transnationalism, Pluralism and Semi-Autonomous Social Fields: Focus on Arnhem Land

Abstract The notion of a sovereign polity holding a monopoly over law that is followed within its jurisdictional borders is threatened by the phenomena of transnational law and normative pluralism. Authoritative norms can be highly influential upon legal processes within the borders of a polity. Those norms may be derived from other legal systems, religious or belief systems or a combination of both. In this era of globalization, normative pluralism exists as an everyday fact of life almost everywhere in the modern world. This article considers the normative pluralism that has been experienced in Arnhem Land in the Northern Territory of Australia and the need to further develop the pluralism model of semi-autonomous social fields.