Over the past decade, efforts to promote the rule of law have advanced significantly. Historically, rule of law reform has focused on formal government institutions, engaging with high-level government actors in a top-down approach. Recent thinking, however, has demonstrated a sea change. The sole focus on formalistic, top-down approaches is being questioned and scaled back, giving space to an increasing emphasis on rule of law from an end-user perspective – considering that rule of law service delivery may be carried out by the government actors and institutions and also by informal, non-state actors. Programming has shifted to promote bottom-up approaches, working with local communities and nongovernmental organizations to empower all citizens to have access to justice and human security.

There has been a parallel shift in the individuals and teams carrying out rule of law work globally. The trend is to think beyond pure use of lawyers and law professors toward a broader, more inclusive community of rule of law practitioners. New rule of law courses, masters programs and online communities of practice (such as INPROL) aim to improve the educational foundation of rule of law practitioners and to professionalize the community.

At a recent roundtable co-hosted by the United States Institute of Peace (USIP) and the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), these recent shifts in thinking were highlighted against the backdrop of continued challenges among international and local actors promoting the rule of law. Sheelagh Stewart, director of the governance and rule of law group at UNDP, noted that at its core rule of law is the social contract between the citizens and the state that governs them. In countries affected by conflict, this social contract has been broken. Thus, as the rule of law community looks to advance approaches to promote rule of law, we need to keep in mind the ideal of developing a social contract where citizens are part of the process, repairing and rebuilding their relationship with the state.

Significant challenges were discussed at the roundtable as issues that face the community, both on a policy level and practical field level:

1. The role of power/politics, particularly at local level, as integral to sustainable rule of law reform and therefore the need to focus on understanding this dynamic and then creating incentives for these powers to change the way they govern and engage with citizens;
2. The need for an increased focus on positives – seeking to understand what strengths exist in each country context and encouraging a more organic and sustainable development of the rule of law, rather than only focusing on gap analysis or challenges;
3. The need to be cognizant of our role as donors/international actors, in working on the relationship between the state and citizens – if we focus too much on the state we may create power levels that can lead to more authoritarian rule; while focusing too much on the citizens could lead to unreachable expectations. Any intervening party must be cognizant the potential “warping factor”;
4. Finally, the urgency we feel as internationals to get reforms/projects moving – from budgetary or political pressures – is strongly echoed by people in the countries we work, where governments have to meet demands of citizens when they don’t necessarily have the resources, time, etc. to cope. The problem is a mismatch in urgency. International urgency and input often fades when political/budgetary attention dries up. We need to focus on durable engagement through short-, medium-, and long-term projects, to pace and sustain change and the reform process.

Though the challenges are many, there are real positives to be drawn from the kind of thinking and broadening space in which rule of law work is currently being discussed and carried out. As USIP continues to expand approaches, it is heartening to continue discussing and engaging with colleagues, keen to work together to identify challenges and create sustainable, impactful, lasting ways to advance the rule of law.

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