The Rule of Law in the Arab World : Courts in Egypt and the Gulf (Cambridge Middle East Studies)

Rating:
Summary: accessible, thorough, well-argued and well-sourced
Review: Nathan Brown's book is among the best legal writing about law in the Arab world available. Neither to general to describe reality meaningfully nor too elaborate to be accessible, Brown avoids the obsessive fixation upon Islam and gender that dominates most legal discourse about the region (usually motivated by grants which are in turn politically driven), Brown presents a very clear set of questions: does 'rule of law' in the Arab world primarily arise from colonial impositions from foreign powers, liberal legality (the pursuit of law as a means to restrain power), or from an effort to extend and consolidate power? Brown argues that the latter is the best account of the 'rule of law,' but also that this particular process of consolidating power is itself constraining, as a government that seeks to rule through laws has to occasionally grant tactical advantages to those it governs. The writing is clear, the sources extensive, and the author places real Arab sources at the center of his analysis, rather than citing the Western scholars who "know" the region better than its occupants. Still, as I see it, the primary contribution of the book is in disturbing basic conventions about the 'rule of law' itself.

Rating:
Summary: accessible, thorough, well-argued and well-sourced
Review: Nathan Brown's book is among the best legal writing about law in the Arab world available. Neither to general to describe reality meaningfully nor too elaborate to be accessible, Brown avoids the obsessive fixation upon Islam and gender that dominates most legal discourse about the region (usually motivated by grants which are in turn politically driven), Brown presents a very clear set of questions: does 'rule of law' in the Arab world primarily arise from colonial impositions from foreign powers, liberal legality (the pursuit of law as a means to restrain power), or from an effort to extend and consolidate power? Brown argues that the latter is the best account of the 'rule of law,' but also that this particular process of consolidating power is itself constraining, as a government that seeks to rule through laws has to occasionally grant tactical advantages to those it governs. The writing is clear, the sources extensive, and the author places real Arab sources at the center of his analysis, rather than citing the Western scholars who "know" the region better than its occupants. Still, as I see it, the primary contribution of the book is in disturbing basic conventions about the 'rule of law' itself.