Customer Reviews

Promoting the Rule of Law Abroad: In Search of Knowledge

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The Rule of Law has become more and more important in international relations over the past years, with vast sums of money spent on the training of judges, the building of courts, institutions of transitional justice and the drafting of legislation. This book is the best overview of these efforts and the rationale that underlies them that I've come across. It is based on extensive research by someone with long-term experience in the field, well-written and clearly argued. Much recommended!

As Carothers, et al., point out, the "rule of law" means different things to different speakers. When a government or NGO official talks about the rule of law, it's worth asking which definition he has in mind.

This collection of essays covers a lot of ground, addressing strengths & weaknesses of different approaches to this oft-cited but seldom defined touchstone of international relations.

I hope the transition team puts this on their reading list, along with almost anything else Carothers writes or edits.

The format of this book, as a series of essays, worked well with the self-directed study I am engaged in right now. I can read an essay or two in this book, a chapter or two in another related book, and come back to this one. There are some books that a reader has to work his way through before he can say he really understands it, but each of these essays can stand alone.

Carothers selected the essays well to cover the range of a broad topic.