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Rule of Law
The rule of law refers to a mechanism, process, institution, practice, or norm that secures a particular type of governance. The relevant type of governance is usually defined in opposition to arbitrariness. Arbitrariness is typical of various forms of despotism, absolutism, authoritarianism, and totalitarianism, which are widely thought to be evils that the rule of law is supposed to curb. These include even highly institutionalized forms of rule where atop the apex of a power structure sits some sovereign entity (a king, a junta, a party committee) that can make decisions unconstrained by law when it deems necessary. Ideas about the rule of law have long been central to political and legal thought since at least as early as when Aristotle distinguished “the rule of ...
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