Plunder examines the dark side of the Rule of Law and explores how it has been used as a powerful political weapon by Western countries in order to legitimize plunder – the practice of violent extraction by stronger political actors victimizing weaker ones. Challenges traditionally held beliefs in the sanctity of the Rule of Law by exposing its dark side Examines the Rule of Law's relationship with 'plunder' – the practice of violent extraction by stronger political actors victimizing weaker ones – in the service of Western cultural and economic domination Provides global examples of plunder: of oil in Iraq; of ideas in the form of Western patents and intellectual property rights imposed on weaker peoples; and of liberty in the United States Dares to ask the paradoxical question – is the Rule of Law itself illegal?

This book offers in-depth insights on the struggles implementing the rule of law in nineteenth century Ceylon, introduced into the colonies by the British as their “greatest gift.” The book argues that resistance can be understood as a form of negotiation to lessen oppressive colonial conditions, and that the cumulative impact caused continual adjustments to the criminal justice system, weighing it down and distorting it. The tactical use of rule of law is explored within the three bureaucracies: the police, the courts and the prisons. Policing was often “governed at a distance” due to fiscal constraints and economic priorities and the enforcement of law was often delegated to underpaid Ceylonese. Spaces of resistance opened up as Ceylon was largely left to manage its own affairs. Villagers, minor officials, as well as senior British government officials, alternately used or subverted the rule of law to achieve their own goals. In the courts, the imported system lacked political legitimacy and consequently the Ceylonese undermined it by embracing it with false cases and information, in the interests of achieving justice as they saw it. In the prisons, administrators developed numerous biopolitical techniques and medical experiments in order to punish prisoners’ bodies to their absolute lawful limit. This limit was one which prison officials, prisoners, and doctors negotiated continuously over the decades. The book argues that the struggles around rule of law can best be understood not in terms of a dualism of bureaucrats versus the public, but rather as a set of shifting alliances across permeable bureaucratic boundaries. It offers innovative perspectives, comparing the Ceylonese experiences to those of Britain and India, and where appropriate to other European colonies. This book will appeal to those interested in law, history, postcolonial studies, cultural studies, cultural and political geography.

Edited by Barbara Faedda Based on a division of powers and the supremacy of a constitution, the rule of law is not invulnerable, as was demonstrated in the violent attack against the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021. It can be used but also abused; it can be respected or exploited, exalted or undermined. It can even arouse skepticism, because it is not always effective against the realities of political life. In a world facing social division, polarization, poverty, climate change, and pandemics, it is crucial to understand the roles of those who manage, control, or are touched by the rule of law. This book’s primary goal is to showcase the variety of perspectives, cases, and methodologies of the people and institutions that bring a range of expertise to bear in many fields. The essays here – which encompass various geographic areas and social groups, as well as several historical periods – address racism, misinformation, human rights, the status of women, the treatment of indigenous peoples, the environment, and more. The rule of law is not merely a set of principles that guarantee a just society. It must be more than a tool in the hands of legal experts; it cannot be a concept out of the reach of ordinary people. It is essential that every citizen feel a clear responsibility to protect and promote the rule of law, to denounce inequalities and oppose imbalances of power, if the common goal is to enjoy freedom, democracy, and justice for all. Barbara Faedda is the executive director of the Italian Academy for Advanced Studies at Columbia University and adjunct associate professor in Columbia’s Department of Italian, where she teaches courses on contemporary Italy. Among her publications are the books Elite. Cultura italiana e statunitense tra Settecento e Novecento (Ronzani, 2020); From Da Ponte to the Casa Italiana: A Brief History of Italian Studies at Columbia (Columbia University Press, 2017); Present and Future Memory: Holocaust Studies at the Italian Academy, editor (Italian Academy Publications, 2016); and essays including “An Italian Perspective on the U.S.-Italy Relationship” (The White House Historical Association, 2016); “Neurolaw: come le neuroscienze potrebbero cambiare l’antropologia giuridica”; and “We are not racists, but we do not want immigrants.” In 2016 Dr. Faedda conceived the International Observatory for Cultural Heritage (IOCH), dedicated to all issues relating to the survival, protection, and conservation of cultural heritage. In 2019 she was appointed ambassador, permanent observer for the European Public Law Organization to the United Nations.

Bastiat's The Law is the classic work which defines the right and just system of laws for a free people, and demonstrates how such laws facilitate a free society.

It pluralises the conversation around legal indicators by considering the diversity of law and legal institutions in the Global South.

The contemporary world is complex and is characterized by new normative challenges with regards to living conditions and political organization, both within the borders of sovereign states and globally. Such challenges require interdisciplinary analyses of a number of intertwined subjects. Varieties of Liberalism: Contemporary Challenges presents an important contribution to this pressing task. Relying on the cooperation of UiT The Arctic University of Norway research group Pluralism, Democracy and Justice, and the Civic Constellation project from Spain’s National Research Fund, the book is the outgrowth of the conference “Themes in Contemporary Ethics and Political Philosophy”, held in Tromsø in August 2012. An international array of scholars from universities in Brazil, France, Norway and Spain are brought together here, and combine normative reflections, conceptual analysis, case-studies and historical accounts. Philosophical liberalism provides the dominant perspective in contemporary political and social philosophy, and the majority of the authors take one version or another as their starting point, bringing together various different critical perspectives. Since it is crucial to sort out what an embracing of liberalism means and what a criticism of liberalism is directed at, the introduction of the book situates the chapters in relation to the disparate uses of ‘liberalism’. The sixteen chapters are distributed into three parts, namely, Free Speech and Deliberation, Citizenship and Democracy, and Justice, Borders and International Law. Of interest to a wide, interdisciplinary readership, Varieties of Liberalism responds to questions such as: Do contemporary democracies live up to their own ideals? How do these democracies cope with the issues of free speech, religious diversity, migration, indigenous communities, and the scientific and technological development? How ought civic education to be regulated in pluralist democracies? Who are the rightful owners of common goods? As is evident from this representative list, the book addresses both the intellectual and the practical challenges of contemporary liberalism.