Nick Cheesman, Opposing the Rule of Law: How Myanmars Courts Make Law and Order (Cambridge UP, 2016)
Working against the tendency to conflate the analytic categories \u201crule of law,\u201d and \u201claw and order,\u201d Nick Cheesman\u2019s Opposing the Rule of Law: How Myanmar\u2019s Courts Make Law and Order (Cambridge University Press, 2015) makes a significant two-fold contribution, one as \u201cthe first serious attempt for half a century to situate Myanmar\u2019s courts in its politics;\u201d and the other, that rather than reproduce the binaried, linear thinking inherent to terms like \u201crule by law,\u201d Cheesman exposes and repairs a significant conceptual weakness in rule of law scholarship through the analytic lens of law and order.\n\nMartin Krygier writes, \u201cOpposing the Rule of Law combines three elements rarely seen in one place: fine-grained, indeed masterly, unravelling of Myanmar criminal laws social and political history, character and significance; an original and sophisticated account of the rule of law and its enemies in Myanmar, generally, and in principle; and uncommonly fine prose. It is a tour de force, instructive\u2013indeed illuminating\u2013and a pleasure to read.\u201d Eve Darian-Smith highlights the study\u2019s rich empirical research and assesses the book as \u201can extraordinary achievement.\u201d Engaging with Opposing the Rule of Law\u2019scareful and nuanced analysis reveals that this praise, from leading scholars of rule of law, social theory, legal anthropology, and socio-legal studies, is well deserved.\n\n\n\nJothie Rajah is Research Professor at the American Bar Foundation, Chicago. She writes on rule of law discourses and can be reached at jrajah@abfn.org.\nLearn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices\nSupport our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/law