Expert ignorance : the law and politics of rule of law reform / Deval Desai, University of Edinburgh.

Title from publisher's bibliographic system (viewed on 12 Jun 2023).

Open Access. Unrestricted online access star

Introduction -- Ignorance and the practice of rule of law reform -- Projecting the rule of law -- Performing the rule of law -- Law and politics of rule of law performances -- Historicising rule of law performances -- The sociology of rule of law performers -- Conclusion.

Today, a transnational constellation of 'rule of law' experts advise on 'good' legal systems to countries in the Global South. Yet these experts often claim that the 'rule of law' is nearly impossible to define, and they frequently point to the limits of their own expertise. In this innovative book, Deval Desai identifies this form of expertise as 'expert ignorance'. Adopting an interdisciplinary approach, Desai draws on insights from legal theory, sociology, development studies, and performance studies to explore how this paradoxical form of expertise works in practice. With a range of illustrative cases that span both global and local perspectives, this book considers the impact of expert ignorance on the rule of law and on expert governance more broadly. Contributing to the study of transnational law, governance, and expertise, Desai demonstrates the enduring power of proclaiming what one does not know. This title is available as Open Access on Cambridge Core.