Teng Li

In the literature, the Rule of Law (ROL) is mainly explained, and its value justified, by reference to its support for a liberal conception of human agency. As such, the connection between the ROL and legitimacy is normally considered contingent if the conception of the ROL is thin. It can be rendered necessary, it seems, only by a substantive conception that incorporates other political ideals, notably democracy. Without recourse to such a move, this article defends a necessary ROL-legitimacy connection by exploring the ROL’s contribution to the task of pacification, which, I argue, is inherent in the claim of legitimacy. My interpretation re-orients the ROL’s foundational value from the liberal conception of human agency to politically inspired fear and summa mala. The paradigmatic shift is in line with the realism approach to political theory which derives and explains moral claims in political theories from considerations of basic political necessity.