Assessing past efforts to support the rule of law abroad, including in Iraq and Afghanistan, as well as suggesting innovative approaches for the future, Rachel Kleinfeld’s work has been lauded by experts for bringing clarity to an emerging field.
Political leaders have declared that the rule of law is essential to democracy, necessary for economic growth, and crucial in the fight for security at home and abroad.
Ms Kleinfeld suggests that despite the attempts of the US – backed by billions of dollars – to spark rule-of-law improvements in other countries, no magic formula has yet been stumbled upon.
In this work, the historic methods of imposing law are tackled, as well as the growing movement of ‘second-generation reformers’ – who view the rule of law as a relationship between the state and society that must be ruled from inside that country, rather than laws imposed by outsiders.
New methods of reform are considered that may have a greater chance at success. Reviewers, from leading politicians to members of the US Army, agree that scholars and practitioners alike should pay a keen interest to the suggestions on establishing the rule of law in post-conflict situations.