Four puzzles about the rule of law: Why, what, where? And who cares?

This chapter talks about how rule of law promotion is flourishing, and seeks to supplement this success with a more in-depth understanding of what it entails. Essential among the many obscurities that attend the rule of law are the issues of why, what, where, and who cares—in that exact order. The concept of rule of law has become so inconsistent partly because people can have so many reasons for being interested in it. While that can lead to confusion, it also can reflect real differences in perspective. The chapter distinguishes between two such perspectives: one is the attempt to generate efforts to establish the rule of law where it has not been much in evidence. The other looks at how people seek to analyze the rule of law where it is already in place and established.