As the 2023 World Justice Project index shows, rule of law has declined in most countries for the 6th year in a row. Still, the respect for rule of law remains a key principle and objective within Swedish Foreign- and development policies.
Efforts to reinforce rule of law seems to at times have been undertaken as a means for achieving other purposes, rather than as an objective in its own right. Assumptions to the effect that rule of law can lead to democracy or economic growth have been legion. The question as to how rule of law can be strengthened in its own right still remains.
On the occasion of International Development Law Organization (IDLO) Director General Jan Beagle’s visit to Stockholm, the Expert Group For Aid Studies (EBA) together with Sida and the Swedish Ministry for Foreign Affairs organised a roundtable discussion on Rule of Law.