Part III, Chapters 17-18 Summary and Analysis

Part II is called "The Rule of Law," and it opens with Chapter 17, entitled "The Origins of the Rule of Law." Fukuyama begins his discussion by defining how he uses the term "rule of law." He distinguishes between "law" and "legislation." "Law" as he defines it is a pre-existing body of "abstract rules of justice" from which "legislation" can spring so long is it is consistent with the rule of law. A rule of law is the concept that there is a law to which all people are accountable, even legislators and rulers.

Fukuyama begins with an examination of the development of the Common Law in Britain, which was an exception among European states he argues. The British Common Law was a set of previous judicial decisions on which future decisions were to be based...