‘For too long, the rule of law has been assumed as opposed to rigorously interrogated. Christopher May’s excellent study not only draws attention to this oversight, but also lucidly demonstrates how and why the rule of law rule of law has achieved the status of common sense of global politics. For anyone interested in the legalization of global politics as well as its social, political and ideological consequences, this superb book is essential reading.
– Susanne Soederberg, Queen’s University, Canada

This timely book explores the complexities of the rule of law – a well-used but perhaps less well understood term - to explain why it is so often appealed to in discussions of global politics. Ranging from capacity building and the role of the World Bank to the discourse(s) of lawyers and jurisprudential critiques, it seeks to introduce non-lawyers to the important and complex political economy of the rule of law.