Читать книгу A Citizen’s Guide to the Rule of Law - Kalypso Nicolaidis - Страница 9

What is to be done? What can we, each and every one of us, do to save the rule of law, to bring it back to its former, vibrant self?

The first step towards solving a problem is to admit that we have one. Therefore, let us first wrap our minds around the rule of law, what it is and why we need it. And then, let’s see where we have failed so far and how we could do better. That’s the goal of this book, a citizen’s guide to the rule of law.

Our aim is to speak directly to our readers wherever they may live, with the hope that what we say about Europe is also relevant beyond. We know that we are dealing with complex issues here and we will do our readers the courtesy of not simplifying the matters outrageously. For sure, it’s complicated to live together peacefully!

But by appealing to our shared intuitions, our experiences, and our common understanding of how the world works or, at least, ought to work, we hope to provide a practical guide and make these complex topics understandable. Yes, we do use political and legal theory, political science and philosophy in our arguments. But we hope to present a handy guide that speaks to practitioners, but also well beyond, to all concerned citizens.

Sometimes we use thought experiments to make our arguments clear, and when we can, we offer real-world examples from across the continent. Forgive us for often avoiding specific country names for the sake of generalisation, if not anonymity. As should be clear by now, we are less concerned about where any concrete attack on the rule of law has happened, and more about the patient we seek to nurture, the combined consequences of continuous attacks for every day citizens. This wondrous creature of ours must be strengthened once again by our collective life force. By taking a position of levity and introducing a good portion of humour, our ambition is to suggest how we can save the rule of law.

But more than that, we want this book to offer a call for action and for engagement.