Rule of Law Teaching Hub

Although the rule of law is often described as an “essentially contested” concept, learning about the rule of law nevertheless requires probing its philosophical and jurisprudential dimensions. Part of this involves consideration of what the rule of law is. From the perspective of what the rule of law contains, the rule of law is often summarized along a spectrum ranging from “thin” or “formalist” versions focused on the proper sources and form of legality to “thick” or “substantive” versions that seek to incorporate moral values. Whereas formalist conceptions are often criticized for being as applicable to governments some might consider normatively “bad” as to those viewed as normatively “good,” substantive versions suffer from disagreements about what values ought to be incorporated and whether doing so conflates the rule of law with other concepts.

Adjacent to thinking about the contents of the rule of law are discussions about what the rule of law is for, which often focus on how law might constrain the exercise of public (or perhaps private) power, enable economic development, protect human rights, and the like. The latter also often implicates law’s relationship to concepts like liberty, property, capitalism, and democracy. How and whether the law even ought to relate to certain purposes is of course another area of likely disagreement.

Common readings from the syllabi that seek to define the rule of law, often but not always from a more analytic philosophical perspective, include:

• Tom Bingham, The Rule of Law (2010).
• Jedidiah Britton-Purdy, A Democratic Rule of Law, 87 Law & Contemp. Probs. 293 (2025).
• A.V. Dicey, Introduction to the Study of the Law of the Constitution (1885).
• Lon Fuller, The Morality of Law (1954).
• Friedrich Hayek, The Constitution of Liberty (1960).
• Martin Krygier, What’s the Point of the Rule of Law?, 67 Buff. L. Rev. 743 (2019).
• Joseph Raz, The Rule of Law and its Virtue, in The Authority of Law: Essays on Law and Morality 210 (1979).
• Brian Tamanaha, On the Rule of Law (2000).
• Jeremey Waldron, The Concept and the Rule of Law, 43 Ga. L. Rev. 1 (2008).

Note that many of these authors have written extensively on the rule of law in various fora, some of which might be more or less well-suited to your interests than the listed works.

Along these lines, theorists have also debated whether the rule of law is normatively good. Some have adopted more critical stances, highlighting the ways in which law can excuse or reify inequalities. Still others emphasize the usefulness of the rule of law and its accompanying rhetoric and institutions to the marginalized.

Common readings that theoretically explore the desirability of the rule of law include:

• Richard Delgado, The Ethereal Scholar: Does Critical Legal Studies Have What Minorities Want?, 22 Harv. Civ. Rights-Civ. Liberties L. Rev. 301 (1987).
• Allan C. Hutchinson & Patrick Monahan, Democracy and the Rule of Law, in The Rule of Law: Ideal or Ideology 97 (Allan C. Hutchinson & Patrick Monahan, eds. 1987).
• Gerald J. Postema, An “Almost Sacred Responsibility”: The Rule of Law in Times of Peril, 107 Judicature 17 (2024).
• Judith N. Shklar, Political Theory and the Rule of Law, in The Rule of Law: Ideal or Ideology 1 (Allan C. Hutchinson & Patrick Monahan, eds. 1987).
• E.P. Thompson, Whigs and Hunters (1975) (focusing on the concluding pages).
• Robin West, Jurisprudence and Gender, 55 U. Chi. L. Rev. 1 (1988).

Rule of law courses also tend to be built around country case studies. Case studies provide students with an opportunity to feel for the boundaries of the rule of law by examining how the presence (or absence) of the rule of law manifests on the ground. A deeper understanding of specific cases ideally also enables comparison across contexts otherwise separated by time or geography.

Although the chosen case studies vary based on instructor and expertise, cases once tended to be more comparative. Instructors might select Nazi Germany to introduce the idea of the dual state, China to consider the relationship of legal development to contemporary authoritarianism, or Brazil to explore actions by empowered constitutional courts. In recent years, instructors have paid growing attention to developments in the United States, with increasing focus on the actions of the Trump administrations. The trend towards studying the United States has also been accompanied by, at least in U.S. law schools, an emphasis on the role of lawyers in defending the rule of law. That emphasis is particularly pronounced in clinics or courses taught by former practitioners.

Because the number of cases and potential readings are vast, we list below some countries discussed in collected syllabi. Indeed, unlike philosophical and jurisprudential treatments of the rule of law, there were not necessarily specific readings that appeared across multiple syllabi. For more specific readings, we instead encourage consulting the syllabus repository, which includes a column indicating any cases discussed within that syllabus. We also emphasize that rather than prescribing cases to adopt, those interested should focus on the cases they know best.

Possible Case Studies

• Afghanistan
• Albania
• Brazil
• Canada
• Chile
• China
• East Timor
• El Salvador
• European Union
• Germany
• Hungary
• Indonesia
• Iraq
• Israel
• Japan
• Kazakhstan
• Mexico
• Nigeria
• Palestine
• Peru
• Poland
• Russia
• Singapore
• South Africa
• South Korea
• United Kingdom
• United States
• Venezuela
• Vietnam

Rule of law courses are also frequently built around key questions and topics. Again, the choice of questions or topics vary based on instructor preference and background. Some courses might think about the rule of law’s relationships with regime types like democracy, authoritarianism, and democratic backsliders. Others might focus on the potential for law to protect certain institutions, e.g., voting; constrain certain practices, e.g., corruption; or advance certain goals, e.g., economic development. Instructors might also be interested in examining the role of different actors in preserving (or sometimes dismantling) the rule of law—including judges, the executive, and citizens who engage with the law.

Because the choices of topic are again many and instructor-specific, we do not pretend to identify them all here. Certain themes do, however, come up with some frequency. Below, we organize such topics under three headers. Given the variety of readings across syllabi, however, we again largely avoid identifying specific readings. Rather, we encourage those interested to consult the syllabi in the repository for further inspiration.

Governance, Institutions, and Accountability

• Executive Power
• Role of Judges
• Lawyering
• Civil Society
• Democracy
• Autocracy, Dual States, and Democratic Backsliding
• Federalism and Subnational Government
• (Anti-)Corruption

Rights, Equality, and Justice

• Access to Justice
• Human Rights
• Immigration
• Policing and Prosecution
• Race, Slavery, and Discrimination
• Reproductive Rights
• Voting and Free and Fair Elections
• War, Terrorism, and Genocide

Rule of Law Policy and Reform

• Measuring the Rule of Law
• Building the Rule of Law