Politically smart legal adaptation: A critical perspective on contemporary rule of law reform

How can development actors contribute to building the rule of law? Summarising recent scholarly and practical literature, the chapter argues that for many development actors today, the rule of law is a product of conflict, dialogue, and debate. It is uncertain and unpredictable – and as a result, development actors may now pursue the rule of law (whatever it might be) in ways that claim to recognise both the complexity of the rule of law and of the contexts in which it is to be built. We argue that, if this claim is in any way plausible, it entails a very specific approach to rule of law reform, which we term “politically smart legal adaptation” (PSLA). The stakes of PSLA entail reformulating the relationship between law and politics in development contexts – which begs a series of questions about whether this approach is in fact politically plausible, desirable, and accountable.