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  • 7 - The Rule of Law Writ Large

  • from Part III - National Case Studies in Transnational Context
  • Edited by Gregory Shaffer, Georgetown University, Washington DC, Wayne Sandholtz, University of Southern California
  • Book:
    The Rule of Law under Pressure
    Published online:
    02 January 2025
    Print publication:
    16 January 2025, pp 251-283
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  • Summary

    Virtually all philosophical discussions of the rule of law’s meaning assume that the proper horizon of the concept is the national legal system, or what I call “the rule of law writ small.”  But governments are bound by a web of transnational legal obligations that should also be considered part of the rule of law’s scope. Analyzing whether the rule of law is honored against the backdrop of both national and transnational law gives us “the rule of law writ large.”  This concept has particular force in the context of backsliding (and democracy-restoring) governments when autocrats first pull their governments away from transnational norms before newly elected democrats seek to restore compliance with those norms. While both sorts of governments may change domestic law, and pack political institutions with those who share their values and fire those who get in their way, only the democracy restorers can be said to be honoring the rule of law writ large.