Ohnesorge, John --- "Administrative Law in East Asia: A Comparative-Historical Analysis" [2010] ELECD 807; in Rose-Ackerman, Susan; Lindseth, L. Peter (eds), "Comparative Administrative Law" (Edward Elgar Publishing, 2010)

Book Title: Comparative Administrative Law

Editor(s): Rose-Ackerman, Susan; Lindseth, L. Peter

Publisher: Edward Elgar Publishing

ISBN (hard cover): 9781848446359

Section: Chapter 5

Section Title: Administrative Law in East Asia: A Comparative-Historical Analysis

Author(s): Ohnesorge, John

Number of pages: 14

Extract:

5 Administrative law in East Asia: a comparative-
historical analysis
John Ohnesorge


Comparative law has experienced its share of debate over both purpose and methodol-
ogy. In fact, there are many things one might hope to accomplish through comparative
scholarship, and no need to privilege one purpose over another. So long as the purpose
of a particular project is made clear, readers will be able to decide for themselves what is
gained from the comparison. The same can be said of method. There are many possible
methods for doing comparative work, and so long as the chosen method is clear, readers
will be able to judge for themselves whether the materials and the argument support the
final conclusions. Self-reflection is important, but it also seems true that at some point
debate over purpose and method can be paralyzing, getting in the way of comparative
projects that might yield interesting insights. This chapter will spend relatively little time
on purpose and method, not because they do not matter, but on the assumption that a
classically pragmatic approach to such issues is perhaps the best way to proceed. There
is no overarching truth, or authority, that will settle debates about purpose and method
in comparative law, so a pragmatic approach asks instead whether a chosen purpose and
method succeed in generating useful insights on the part of the researcher, or the reader.
The fact that this chapter is also an exercise in comparative legal history offers another
explanation for such a ...