Exploring the Social and Cultural Realities of Dispute Resolution in Multicultural Societies: A Legal Anthropological Perspective

Abstract

From the perspective of legal anthropology, multicultural societies can be interpreted in two ways: positively and negatively. The phenomenon this paper seeks to study is how social conflicts or disputes can arise at any time, given their universal nature. Meanwhile, culture is a representation of human thought within society, encompassing diverse innovations. The author sees that conflicts or disputes are inevitable when individuals are firm in their own right and do not heed the truth (opinions) of others. This phenomenon may occur in multicultural societies, both between individuals and between individuals and a certain ethnic group. Legal anthropology plays a significant role in exploring the norms and values that shape people's lives. Legal anthropology views society as a whole and an interrelated unit. In the previous study, the author cited research by Nader and Todd (1978), which categorized disputes into three stages: the complaint by one of the parties, negative reactions, and the final stage of dispute resolution, brought to court. In addition, this study argues that several alternative dispute resolution methods in a multicultural society can be adopted from a legal anthropological perspective, including intercultural mediation, dialogue forums, and restorative justice