Legal reform is the effort to change a legal system. It can take many forms: introducing new laws; updating existing laws; or changing the way law is interpreted and applied in court. These changes can be small or large, and may involve the whole law or just some parts of it.
The rebirth of legal reform efforts suggests that there is still faith in the old law and development orthodoxy, which sees top-down, Western-designed systems as the best path for developing countries to become markets and democracies. This orthodoxy remains pervasive among donor agencies and other bodies committed to supporting reform. It also persists in the belief that a few relatively simple models can be designed to address the law and development challenge, and that Western legal expertise is indispensable.
It is important to recognize that while political-economy explanations are often useful, complementary sociological analysis provides a more complete picture of why communities choose or resist specific legal reforms. A good starting point is to identify the potential social forces at play in any given situation, and to figure out how these might turn into actual exerted force.
These social forces can be as varied as a major event (such as war or revolution), an innovation (such as antibiotics, cars, and computers), or a social movement (such as sexual permissiveness). They will influence the law and the legal system. However, a strong opposing social force or group will often be able to counteract the effect of these outside influences by resisting legal change.