The Rule of Law

Few thoughtful people do not know that the political and legal paradigms of state sovereignty, the dominance of powerful states, and the institutionalized cooperation and competition that defined the international order after WW II, are under threat on many fronts. Sovereignty has been undermined; political authority and legitimacy are weakened; trust in powerful institutions has been shaken; and the aspirations and expectations of millions (perhaps billions) of people are racing ahead of the ability of governments to satisfy them. Global companies, meanwhile, aim to satisfy and to stimulate these wants through greater production, distribution and ever more extravagant packaging, putting the environment at risk as they do so.