Democracies are ordered around a set of laws. Those laws are created to protect and defend the liberties within a democracy, maintain order, and uphold a just society. For laws to protect liberty and justice, they must be upheld, enforced, and applied equally. This is the rule of law.
The rule of law is not meant to be arbitrary and restrictive. Quite the contrary. It protects citizens from the abuse of government power for the service of a few. The rule of law fosters democracy and the thriving of its citizens. With a set of laws applied fairly, citizens of a democracy know what is legal and how their rights will be protected. Without such laws or in cases where laws are applied selectively, citizens of a democracy are at the whim of a ruler who uses laws for personal gain.
President Ronald Reagan knew well the importance of rule of law to a democratic and peaceful society. He said “When we speak of peace, we should not mean just the absence of war. True peace rests on the pillars of individual freedom, human rights, national self-determination, and respect for the rule of law.”
For those who live or have lived in a functioning democracy, rule of law can easily be taken for granted, like the air we breathe. But when it is gone or threatened, we feel its absence quickly. Without it, rights are not protected, liberties are compromised, and freedoms are violated. As President Dwight D Eisenhower said, ‘The clearest way to show what the rule of law means to us in everyday life is to recall what has happened when there is no rule of law.”
As citizens, we should protect the rule of law. We should expect our leaders to uphold the rule of law for all people in our society. And we should model our commitment to this fundamental democratic value, ensuring it is safeguarded for all.
Democracy is a verb. Let’s fight for rule of law.
Follow the George W Bush Institute’s Democracy is a Verb series
Links to Other Content
- Undermining our asylum system weakens the rule of law
- Rule of Law – interview with Tutu Alicante
- Rule of Law in China – interview with Chen Guangcheng
- The Rule of Law Must Triumph – The Catalyst article
- Rule of Law in times of Crisis – Guy Kerr
- Rule of Law for me but not for Thee
