Democracy and the Rule of Law

Adam Przeworski, José María Maravall

Cambridge University Press, Jul 21, 2003 - Law - 321 pages

This book addresses why governments sometimes follow the law and other times choose to evade the law. It interprets the rule of law as a strategic choice of actors with powerful interests, rather than as an exogenous constraint on politicians. The rule of law emerges when no one group is strong enough to dominate the others and when political actors seek to resolve their conflicts by recourse to law. Law is thus deeply rooted in politics. Conflicts between rule of majority and rule of law are simply conflicts in which actors use either votes or laws as their instruments of power.

What people are saying

User Review -

This is a well written, engaging book where the reader is introduced to various concepts of the rule of law. As one of the authors said, laws cannot "rule" because to rule needs action, and it is only humans who can act. Hence the term "rule of law" is a paradox.
The numerous examples provide sufficient explanation on how the rule of law can be molded to suit a ruler's goal.
The book is very insightful and filled with rich ideas. It is not stuffy at all because the language is simple and has none of the legalese found in some books on law.
It is quite a good read. 

Contents

• Lineages of the Rule of Law: 19
• Power Rules and Compliance: 62
• Obedience and Obligation in the Rechtsstaat: 94
• A Postscript to Political Foundations of Democracy and the Rule of Law: 109
• Why Do Political Parties Obey Results of Elections?: 114
• Part III: 145
• The Majoritarian Reading of the Rule of Law: 147
• How Can the Rule of Law Rule? Cost Imposition through Decentralized Mechanisms: 168
• Dictatorship and the Rule of Law Rules and Military Power in Pinochets Chile: 188
• Part III: 221
• Courts as an Instrument of Horizontal Accountability The Case of Latin Europe: 223
• Rule of Democracy and Rule of Law: 242
• The Rule of Law as a Political Weapon: 261
• The Rule of Law and the Problem of Legal Reform in Michel de Montaignes Essais: 302
• Author Index: 317
• Subject Index: 321

About the author

Adam Przeworski is the Carroll and Milton Petrie Professor of Politics at New York University. Previously, he was the Martin A. Ryerson Distinguished Service Professor at the University of Chicago. He is the author of thirteen books and numerous articles. His recent publications include Democracy and Development, co-authored with Michael R. Alvarez, Jos Antonio Cheibub and Fernando Limongi (2000), Democracy and the Rule of Law, co-edited with Jos Mar a Maravall (2003), and States and Markets (2003). He is the recipient of the 2001 Woodrow Wilson Prize.

Jose Maria Maravall is the Director of the Center for Advanced Studies in the Social Sciences, Juan March Institute (Madrid). He is also a Professor of Sociology at the Universidad Complutense (Madrid), an Honorary Fellow of St. Antony's College (Oxford University), and a Corresponding Fellow of the British Academy. He holds doctorates from the universities of Madrid and Oxford. He was a socialist member of Parliament and Minister of Education and Science from 1982 to 1988. His previous publications include Economic Reforms in New Democracies (1993); Regimes, Politics, and Markets (1997); and (with A. Przeworski) Democracy and the Rule of Law (2003).

Bibliographic information

• Title: Democracy and the Rule of Law; Volume 5 of Cambridge Studies in the Theory of Democracy
• Editors: Adam Przeworski, José María Maravall
• Contributors: Adam Przeworski, José María Maravall
• Edition: illustrated, reprint
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press, 2003
• ISBN: 0521532663, 9780521532662
• Length: 321 pages
• Subjects: Law / Comparative; Political Science / History & Theory; Political Science / Political Ideologies / Democracy; Social Science / General