Leading scholars address the interplay between rule of law and democracy, the most relevant ideals for our present civilisation in the legal and political spheres, at the same time making sense of the different ways in which legal requirements, social commitments, and democratic standards are expected to interweave. Through a reappraisal of the theoretical import of the concepts the contributors provide for a fresh set of inquiries, internal and external, ranging from the State, consolidated and transitional democracies, to interstate, European and global scenarios. Re-orienting the diversity in disciplinary approaches, they converge in tackling disputed empirical and normative questions in-context, and suggest further connections between the rule of law’s potential and the transformations of political arenas.

Contributors are Monica Ciobanu, Christian Joerges, Poul Kjaer, Friedrich Kratochwil, Leonardo Morlino, Gianluigi Palombella, and Daniela Piana.