The Cambridge Companion to the Rule of Law

'The historian EP Thompson thought it "an unqualified human good" but Judith Shklar dismissed it as a "bit of ruling class chatter". So what is the rule of law and does it matter? These are the questions explored in this timely and thought-provoking collection by an impressive array of leading scholars. For political scientists, philosophers, lawyers and policy-makers who seek answers to these questions it will be an invaluable resource.' Catherine O'Regan, Director of the Bonavero Institute of Human Rights, University of Oxford

'Brilliantly designed and edited, multi-faceted yet coherent, realistic and profound, this volume should immunise future discussions of the rule of law against simplistic approaches. It can also serve as a model for editors of theoretical companions, handbooks and collections. A masterpiece.' William Twining, Emeritus Professor of Jurisprudence, University College London

'For some time, it seemed easier to find a universal agreement on the rule of law than on democracy and human rights. Today, we are facing a situation where the rule of law is questioned even in states that appeared to be firmly rooted in the tradition of Western constitutionalism. Therefore, Jens Meierhenrich's and Martin Loughlin's endeavour to redefine the rule of law and to ask whether and in which understanding it is worth being defended is timely and satisfies an urgent need.' Dieter Grimm, Professor of Law, Humboldt University Berlin, Former Justice of the Federal Constitutional Court of Germany

'Meierhenrich and Loughlin have gathered together leading legal scholars from around the world to produce an extraordinary collection of essays. The editors set out to challenge settled expectations by making "the rule of law strange again." The result is a major contribution to legal theory - an indispensable text for scholars and an entire syllabus for the classroom.' Paul W. Kahn, Robert W. Winner Professor of Law and the Humanities, Yale Law School

Jens Meierhenrich is Associate Professor of International Relations at the London School of Economics and Political Science and previously taught at Harvard University. His books include The Legacies of Law (2008), The Remnants of the Rechtsstaat (2018), The Violence of Law (2021), and, as co-editor, The Oxford Handbook of Carl Schmitt, 2016). Martin Loughlin is Professor of Public Law at the London School of Economics and Political Science and previously taught at the University of Glasgow and at the University of Manchester. His books include Sword and Scales (2000), The Idea of Public Law (2003), Foundations of Public Law (2010), and, as co-editor, The Paradox of Constitutionalism (2007).

Part I. Introduction: Thinking About the Rule of Law Jens Meierhenrich and Martin Loughlin; Part II. Histories: 1. Classical Athens' radical democratic 'rule of law' Adriaan Lanni; 2. Rechtsstaat versus the rule of law Jens Meierhenrich; 3. tat de droit: the gallicization of the rechtsstaat Luc Heuschling; 4. Islamic conceptions of the rule of law Lawrence Rosen; 5. Empires and the rule of law Lauren Benton and Lisa Ford; Part III. Moralities: 6. The rule of law as an essentially contested concept Jeremy Waldron; 7. The rule of law in Montesquieu Sharon R. Krause; 8. The spirit of legality: A. V. Dicey and the rule of law Mark D. Walters; 9. Michael Oakeshott's republican theory of the rule of law Martin Loughlin; 10. The morality of the rule of law: Lon Fuller Kristen Rundle; 11. E. P. Thompson and the rule of law: qualifying the 'unqualified good' Douglas Hay; 12. Functions of the rule of law Brian Z. Tamanaha; 13. Modeling the rule of law Barry R. Weingast, Gillian K. Hadfield and Jens Meierhenrich; Part IV. Pathologies: 14. Thomas Hobbes and the rule-by-law tradition David Dyzenhaus; 15. Conservative critiques of the rule of law Peter C. Caldwell; 16. Judith Shklar's critique of legalism Seyla Benhabib and Paul Linden-Retek; 17. The Frankfurt school and the rule of law William E. Scheuerman; 18. Critical legal studies and the rule of law Mark Tushnet; 19. Feminist critiques of the rule of law Vanessa E. Munro; 20. Critical race theory and the rule of law Khiara M. Bridges; Part V. Trajectories: 21. Economic development and the rule of law Shane Chalmers and Sundhya Pahuja; 22. Democracy and the rule of law Martin Krygier; 23. Constitutionalism and the rule of law Roberto Gargarella; 24. Punishment in the rule of law Lindsay Farmer; 25. Populism and the rule of law Nicola Lacey; 26. An 'international rule-of-law movement'? Stephen Humphreys; 27. Measuring the rule of law Tom Ginsburg and Mila Versteeg; 28. Post-conflict rule of law Jane E. Stromseth; 29. A global rule of law Anne Orford; Part VI. Conclusion: 30. What the rule of law is... and is not Jens Meierhenrich.