Trips and Pharmaceutical Patents in Djibouti: an ANT Analysis of Socio-Legal Objects

Abstract

This article discusses the complexity inherent in the relationship between written law and social action. It uses actor-network theory (`ANT') to amplify this complexity and considers its value both in understanding socio-legal objects and, more broadly, to socio-legal studies itself. The article uses a case study of the role of the Trade Related Intellectual Property agreement (`TRIPS') regarding pharmaceutical patents in a `least developed country', Djibouti. The study uses this pharmaceutical example to argue the insights offered by ANT, conceptualizing socio-legal objects, beyond comparable approaches such as implementation studies. It also offers a different, more compelling set of understandings than that which appears in the more standard texts on TRIPS.