Promoting the Rule of Law as US Foreign Policy

• In Event: Law, Legislating, and US Foreign Policy

Abstract

Both the ability and willingness of US policymakers to promote core values, such as democracy and the rule of law, have become increasingly challenged. This paper examines how the US has approached efforts to promote the rule of law as a foreign policy goal from the emergence of the rule of law as a key policy goal in the 1990s to the present. It analyses both the overarching policy and specific US foreign assistance programs aimed at promoting democracy and the rule of law, their underlying program rationales, and the resulting impacts. Using a process-tracing approach that draws on interviews, contemporary documents, and other relevant primary sources, it argues that contrary to conventional wisdom, rule of law aid has changed remarkably little despite powerful and increasingly vocal critiques of its effectiveness, design, and implementation. This paper shows how rule of law promotion work generally emphasizes maintaining the status quo instead of seriously trying to promote a more just legal order. It also develops a new theory to explain why this tendency remains even in instances where clear evidence suggests that efforts are not working or even counterproductive.

Author

• Geoffrey Swenson, City University of London