António Casimiro Ferreira holds a PhD in Sociology of Law and State from the Faculty of Economics of the University of Coimbra, where he is an Associate Professor with aggregation in Sociology: Law, Justice and Citizenship in the 21st century. He is also a researcher at the Centre for Social Studies and co-coordinator of the Doctoral Programme "Sociology of the State, Law and Justice", of the Faculty of Economics of the University of Coimbra and the Centre for Social Studies. In 2006 he was distinguished with the Agostinho Rosetta Prize, awarded to the book Trabalho Procura Justiça, the first research in sociology of law conducted in Portugal, addressing Labour Courts and systems of access to law and resolution of labour disputes. Assuming political sociology of law as an analysis perspective, his areas of research and publication focus on concertation and social dialogue, collective bargaining, access to law and resolution of labour disputes, transformation of the judiciary, globalisation and the role of the ILO. More recently, since 2011, he has focused his interests in the areas of political theory, social theory, political sociology and sociology of law and also constitutional sociology, proposing concepts such as "austerity society", "political juridical exception", "constitutionalism of exception". Among his books are: Sociologia do Direito: uma abordagem sociopolítica [Sociology of Law: a socio-political approach], Porto: Vida Económica (2019); Sociologia das Constituições: Desafio crítico ao constitucionalismo de exceção [Sociology of the Constitutions: Critical challenge to constitutionalism of exception]. Porto: Vida Económica (2019); Émile Durkheim: o social, o político e o jurídico [Émile Durkheim: the social, the political and the legal]. Porto: Vida Económica (2017); Política e Sociedade: teoria social em tempo de austeridade [Politics and Society: social theory in times of austerity]. Porto: Vida Económica (2014); Sociedade da Austeridade e direito do trabalho de exceção [Austerity Society and labour law of exception]. Porto: Vida Económica (2012); Impacto da Negociação Colectiva na Regulamentação do Mercado de Trabalho [Impact of Collective Bargaining on Labour Market Regulation]. Lisbon: Cogitum Series (2006); Trabalho Procura Justiça: os tribunais de trabalho na sociedade portuguesa [Labour Demands Justice: labour courts in Portuguese society]. Coimbra: Almedina (2005); Acesso ao Direito e Mobilização dos Tribunais de Trabalho: o caso da discriminação entre mulheres e homens [Access to Law and Mobilisation of Labour Courts: the case of discrimination between women and men]. Lisbon: CITE (2005).