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The Politics of Rule of Law Reform: From Delegation to Autonomy
Author(s) -
Desai Deval
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
the modern law review
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.37
H-Index - 22
eISSN - 1468-2230
pISSN - 0026-7961
DOI - 10.1111/1468-2230.12554
Subject(s) - delegation , cognitive reframing , polity , rule of law , accountability , politics , public administration , political science , autonomy , corporate governance , law and economics , power (physics) , neutrality , sociology , law , economics , management , physics , quantum mechanics , psychology , social psychology
How can we understand the delegation of power and authority – for example, from a polity to an administrator ‐ in a world of fragmented governance? In this paper, I introduce the practices of contemporary ‘rule of law’ and ‘governance’ reform , which reframe this question in politically powerful ways. These practices are increasingly important in development contexts, and beyond. Practitioners begin with the assumption that some sort of administration occurs in the development contexts in which they work. They then focus on how to convene a political community in which to embed – and potentially legitimate ‐ that administration. They thereby reconfigure the question of delegation into one of autonomy – or managing the extent to and ways in which the administrative legal system self‐produces. In doing so, I argue that contemporary rule of law practitioners wield constitutional power under the rubric of workaday administrative reform. At the same time, they efface their political accountability.