LibGuides: Rule of Law Research: Home

Researching Rule of Law

Researching rule of law initiatives and conditions can be challenging due to the interdisciplinary nature of the topic, combining law, international relations, area studies, and the full range of social sciences.

Relevant materials are wide-ranging, from evidence of governmental and intergovernmental actions, to “soft law” such as United Nations resolutions and nongovernmental organization reports, to statistical surveys and news accounts. Documents can be voluminous and poorly organized, and may be issued by many different organizations around the world, some with insufficient recordkeeping and reporting mechanisms due to post-conflict and transitional conditions.

The resources listed in this guide are good places to start your research. For personalized guidance on your rule of law research, please make an appointment with Susan Gualtier, Biddle's Foreign and International Law Librarian.

Introductory Materials

The following are a few examples of titles in Biddle Law Library providing introductions to rule of law theory and practice. Many more can be found by searching Biddle's Search Center or Van Pelt's Franklin catalogs using "rule of law" as a subject heading. Jurisdiction-specific materials can be found by adding the name of the country or region to the search string.

Handbook on the Rule of Law (eBook) by Christopher May (Editor); Adam Winchester (Editor)
ISBN: 9781786432445
Publication Date: 2018-08-31
In the last half century, the Rule of Law has increasingly been appealed to as a common global value. The Handbook on the Rule of Law analyses the appeal of this idea, its context, and background through a range of questions about the character, history and global reach of the Rule of Law, offering readers a definitive understanding of this central global norm.
On the Rule of Law by Brian Z. Tamanaha
ISBN: 9780521843621
Publication Date: 2004-11-18
This book explores the history, politics & theory of the concept, from ancient times to the 21st century. It examines the rule of law on a global level & concludes by asking whether the rule of law is a universal human good?
Global Perspectives on the Rule of Law (print and eBook) by James J. Heckman (Editor); Lee Cabatingan (Editor); Robert L. Nelson (Editor)
ISBN: 9780415499552
Publication Date: 2010-01-29
Global Perspectives on the Rule of Law is a collection of original research on the rule of law from a panel of leading economists, political scientists, legal scholars, sociologists and historians. The chapters critically analyze the meaning and foundations of the rule of law and its relationship to economic and democratic development.
World Peace Through Law by James Taylor Ranney
Call Number: https://biddle.on.worldcat.org/oclc/999672086
ISBN: 9781138563643
Publication Date: 2017-09-14
This book deals with the history and future of the concept of "world peace through law", which advocates replacing the use of international force with the global rule of law.
Rule of Law, Human Rights and Judicial Control of Power by Rainer Arnold (Editor); José Ignacio Martínez-Estay (Editor)
ISBN: 3319551841
Publication Date: 2017-05-23
Judicial control of public power ensures a guarantee of the rule of law. This book addresses the scope and limits of judicial control at the national level, i.e. the control of public authorities, and at the supranational level, i.e. the control of States. It explores the risk of judicial review leading to judicial activism that can threaten the principle of the separation of powers or the legitimate exercise of state powers.
Promoting the Rule of Law by Lelia Mooney (Editor); Richard J. Goldstone (Foreword by)
ISBN: 9781627221399
Publication Date: 2014-09-07
The twelve chapters and three appendices in this book offer a broad array of perspectives on the promotion of the rule of law in today's world. Some of the authors are themselves practitioners, and their contributions offer revealing perspectives on the challenges and opportunities encountered in the field. Other contributors are members of the academic community that seeks to give practitioners the conceptual tools with which to work effectively in developing countries and societies trying to recover from conflict. Whatever their backgrounds, all the authors seek to get to the heart of how to make efforts to promote the rule of law more effective, more responsive, more inclusive, more coordinated, more humane, and more enduring.
Lawyers and the Rule of Law in an Era of Globalization (print and eBook) by Yves Dezalay (Editor); Bryant Garth (Editor)
ISBN: 9780415581172
Publication Date: 2011-03-17
Lawyers and the Rule of Law in an Era of Globalization focuses on the national and transnational processes transforming both the rule of law and the role of lawyers.
The Rule of Law in the United Nations Security Council Decision-Making Process by Sherif Elgebeily
ISBN: 9781138220249
Publication Date: 2017-03-31
The UN Security Council is entrusted under the UN Charter with primary responsibility for the maintenance and restoration of the international peace; it is the only body with the power to authorise military intervention legally and impose international sanctions where it decides. However, its decision-making process has hitherto been obscure and allegations of political bias have been made against the Security Council in its responses to potential international threats. Despite the rule of law featuring on the Security Council's agenda for over a decade and a UN General Assembly declaration in 2012 establishing that the rule of law should apply internally to the UN, the Security Council has yet to formulate or incorporate a rule of law framework that would govern its decision-making process. This book explains the necessity of a rule of law framework for the Security Council before analysing existing literature and UN documents on the domestic and international rule of law in search of concepts suitable for transposition to the arena of the Security Council.
The Rule of Crisis by Pierre Auriel (Editor); Olivier Beaud (Editor); Carl Wellman (Editor)
ISBN: 3319744720
Publication Date: 2018-03-27
This book analyzes emergency legislations formed in response to terrorism. In recognition that different countries, with different legal traditions, have different solutions, it adopts a comparative point of view.