Promoting the Rule of Law Abroad: In Search of Knowledge

"Over the past decade, Carothers has established himself as the leading U.S. expert on democracy promotion. He is a powerful critic not only of the nuts-and-bolts of democracy assistance but also of U.S. grand strategy overall."—SAIS Review Promoting the rule of law has become a major part of Western efforts to spread democracy and market economics around the world. Yet, although programs to foster the rule of law abroad have mushroomed, well-grounded knowledge about what factors ensure success, and why, remains scarce. In Promoting the Rule of Law Abroad, leading practitioners and policy-oriented scholars draw on years of experience—in Russia, China, Latin America, Central and Eastern Europe, the Middle East, and Africa—to critically assess the rationale, methods, and goals of rule-of-law policies. These incisive, accessible essays offer vivid portrayals and penetrating analyses of the challenges that define this vital but surprisingly little-understood field. Contributors include Rachel Belton (Truman National Security Project) , Lisa Bhansali (World Bank) , Christina Biebesheimer (World Bank) , Thomas Carothers (Carnegie Endowment) , Wade Channell, Stephen Golub, and David Mednicoff (University of Massachusetts, Amherst) , Laure-Hélène Piron (Overseas Development Institute) , Matthew Spence (Yale Law School) , Matthew Stephenson (Harvard Law School) , and Frank Upham (NYU School of Law) .