Constructing normality: Social representations, symbolic power and the vague legal concept of public order

This paper examines the relationship between the theory of social representations, symbolic power, and law. It argues that perception is socially conditioned through frameworks of meaning that both reflect and reproduce power relations. It shows that social representations may be understood as sites of symbolic power that normalize dominant worldviews by transforming the unfamiliar into the familiar. Law is examined as a field where this process becomes institutionalized and by symbolic production enforces and legitimizes hegemonic representations. Focusing on the vague legal concept of public order, this paper demonstrates how legal interpretation operates as an act of normalization, sustaining the status quo. Empirical findings from three studies on public order illustrate how it functions simultaneously as a vehicle and product of hegemonic representation, revealing the deep entanglement between symbolic power, legal authority, and the construction of social normality.