Globalization and the Rule of Law: 'A Machine that Runs of Itself?'

ICON - International Journal of Constitutional Law, vol 1, number 3 (2003) pp. 427-445

19 Pages Posted: 3 Dec 2013

See all articles by Gordon Silverstein

Gordon Silverstein

Yale University - Law School; Yale University, Dept of Political Science

Date Written: March 1, 2003

Abstract

Policy makers in Europe and the United States frequently assert that economic liberalization will lead to domestic political and social reform. But just how is this transformation to take place? Some assert that the desire to secure investment and attract capital would require authoritarian nations such as China to establish the rule of law and tolerate the development of an independent judiciary capable and willing to enforce binding legal constraints on government power. Together, it is argued, these will trigger a chain reaction that transforms economic liberalization into political and social reform. If this popular claim is right, it would have implications for a wide range of theories dealing not only with international relations and comparative politics, but also for those dealing with public law and judicial behavior. But this paper argues these assumptions are wrong. There is a foundation for these claims, and evidence from the United States and the European Union is offered to suggest that there can be a powerful spill-over effect from one arena of legal doctrine to another – from rulings designed to secure economic liberalization to rulings in the social and political arenas. In other words, there is a foundation for these claims. But an examination of the Republic of Singapore demonstrates that this spill over is not something an authoritarian state must tolerate to participate in the global economy or secure foreign investment. Singapore is a small nation – but Singapore’s lesson is being closely studied by China, and critical cases concerning residency rights in Hong Kong in the years after China regained control suggest China may already be following the Singapore model. Those who assert that globalization requires the rule of law may well be right, but wrong to think that the establishment of the rule of law necessarily will lead to social and political liberalization.

Keywords: Rule of Law, globalization, individual rights, China, Singapore, European Court of Justice, Judicial Review

Suggested Citation

Silverstein, Gordon, Globalization and the Rule of Law: 'A Machine that Runs of Itself?' (March 1, 2003). ICON - International Journal of Constitutional Law, vol 1, number 3 (2003) pp. 427-445, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2362416

Gordon Silverstein (Contact Author)

Yale University - Law School ( email )

127 Wall St.
New Haven, CT 06511
United States
203-432-4640 (Phone)

Yale University, Dept of Political Science ( email )

New Haven, CT 06520
United States

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