The Rule of Law: The Common Sense of Global Politics
This timely book explores the complexities of the rule of law - a
well-used but perhaps less well understood term - to explain why it is
so often appealed to in discussions of global politics. Ranging from
capacity building and the role of the World Bank to the discourse(s) of
lawyers and jurisprudential critiques, it seeks to introduce non-lawyers
to the important and complex political economy of the rule of law. In
accessible terms, Christopher May argues that we can no longer merely
use the idea of the rule of law without question but rather must
appreciate its multifaceted and contested character if we are to begin
to understand how and why it is now seen as a `good thing' across the
political spectrum. He expertly examines the problems encountered by
rule of law programmes in post-conflict and developing countries, as
well as presenting the range of contested meanings of the term. The
author also considers the possibility of establishing a pluralistic
account of the rule of law and investigates the plausibility of an
international rule of law. By building on and extending debates in
socio-legal studies about the social role of law, and dealing with
issues largely absent from international political economy this book
will be of great interest to socio - legal scholars and political
economists. It also presents an overarching analysis of the manner in
which politics and law interact that will be of great value to political
scientists and development economists.
