Although it is currently the most important political ideal there is much confusion about what the rule of law means and how it works. Brian Tamanaha outlines the concerns of Western conservatives about the decline of the rule of law and suggests reasons why the radical Left have promoted this decline. Two basic theoretical streams of the rule of law are then presented with an examination of the strengths and weaknesses of each. The book s examination of the rule of law on a global level concludes by deciding whether the rule of law is a universal human good.