Law has been defined in two ways: (i) ideal behavioural norms and (ii) rules that are promulgated by the State which are binding in nature.

Individuals abide by laws due to two primary reasons:

1. Fear of punishment: Punishment by the State results in curtailment of essential freedoms of individuals and hence acts as a deterrent.
2. Rule conforming habit: Many individuals believe that adherence to laws is necessary for their own well being and prosperity as also for social stability and progress. This is called the ‘rule conforming habit’. The family, educational institutions and religious preachers all play a role in inculcating and sustaining this behaviour.

Laws have their origins in customs, traditions, religions and judicial decisions. As such, they very often have a moral dimension too. This moral dimension and the fact that laws are supported by legal and institutional arrangements enable them to bring about a degree of conformity in human behaviour. Laws that have both customary and legislative support are readily accepted.

In modern states, laws are promulgated by legislative organs and enforced by the state through governments. The government, in this context, includes all official agencies and functionaries through which the State achieves its ends. Laws thus regulate and control social behaviour by ensuring uniformity and conformity.

However, laws are different from customs in the following ways:

1. Law has a coercive character. Therefore, it compels people to act in a particular way. Customs are respected and practised out of fear because of the obscurantist nature of traditions and social approval associated with them.
2. Customs are specific to groups and clans while laws have a more general and universal nature.
3. Breach of law entails punishment by the State while disregard of customs is frowned upon by the society and only in an extreme case may result in ostracism.
4. Laws are a more recent phenomenon associated with the growth of the State and its institutions, while customs existed in one form or another at all times and in all societies.

With the emergence of modern nation-states, an establishment of relationships among political, trading, military and international laws has become necessary to maintain world order. Just as national laws are meant for establishing order and control within domestic boundaries, international laws seek to establish orderly behaviour on the part of nations.

(b) Education: Along with laws, education has been an important agency of social control. It prepares the child for social living and teaches her / him the values of discipline, cooperation, tolerance and integration. Educational institutions at all levels (i.e. school, college, university, etc.) impart knowledge as well as ethics through formal structured courses and behavioural inputs.