Summary
Contents
Key Concepts in Governance provides a clear introduction to the technical concepts and policies of contemporary governance through short definitional essays. Each entry features a snapshot definition of the concept, a contextualization of the concept, an overview of relevant debates, and a guide to further reading. The book also includes a substantial introductory chapter which gives an overview of governance studies as a whole, orientating and guiding the reader around the issues that the concepts address.
Rule of Law
Rule of Law
Definition
The rule of law requires that the state be based on a set of laws that apply equally to everyone, including agents of the state. The rule of law is in part a normative concept that distinguishes just rule from despotism. The state should not be based on the arbitrary will of the sovereign, whether the sovereign be a king, president, or parliament. Rather, the sovereign should fall within the law. The agents of the state should be bound by the law just like other citizens. They should not have any more legal privileges than regular citizens. More generally still, the rule of law requires that the law be applied equally to every citizen. The application of the law does ...