Development, Reform, and the Rule of Law: Some Prescriptions for a Common Understanding of the 'Rule of Law' and its Place in Development Theory and Practice

Abstract

In spite of the ubiquity of the phrase in contemporary development discourse and policy, there exists no generally, or even substantially, agreed-upon definition of the rule of law for the purposes of development. This Note investigates the intellectual and normative tensions created by the conceptual conflict surrounding the rule of law in development theory and practice. Drawing on both moral and economic understandings of human development, I attempt strenuously to identify the obstacles to consensus on the meaning of the rule of law. I conclude that the rule of law must be construed as a means of development rather than one of its fully-fledged ends. I also advocate greater attention to the dynamic character of institutions in the developing world, and theoretical moderation in specifying the normative goals of the rule of law.

Keywords: development, law and development, development theory, usaid, world bank, united nations, rule of law, new institutional economics, amartya sen, human rights, capabilities, pistor, brooks, davis