Erhard Blankenburg

Erhard Blankenburg (October 30, 1938 – March 28, 2018) was a German sociologist, specializing in the sociology of law.

After working as an assistant to the sociologist Heinrich Popitz at the University of Freiburg (1966-1968), he received there his habilitation (1974).

There, he was among the founders of the "Zeitschrift für Rechtssoziologie", still the leading journal in the German socio-legal community.

His research covered a broad range of socio-legal topics, with an interest in describing and comparing legal cultures at the centre.

It is work that is (and should be) extremely influential in the field; and no respectable sociologist of law can afford to ignore it.