Conflict is the essence of civil liberty. Individual, or group, rights are rarely, if ever, recognized without a struggle. From the day that King John was forced at Runnymede to acknowledge that his barons had certain prerogatives, to the present era, when racial minorities, women, and gays and lesbians fight for a place at the table, the din of political, judicial, and sometimes violent battle echoes through the United States.

And yet, are the law of freedom of speech and the law of equality truly on a collision course? Henry Louis Gates, Jr., has written that the strongest...

Conflict is the essence of civil liberty. Individual, or group, rights are rarely, if ever, recognized without a struggle. From the day that King John was forced at Runnymede to acknowledge that his barons had certain prerogatives, to the present era, when racial minorities, women, and gays and lesbians fight for a place at the table, the din of political, judicial, and sometimes violent battle echoes through the United States.

And yet, are the law of freedom of speech and the law of equality truly on a collision course? Henry Louis Gates, Jr., has written that the strongest...

Democracy and the Rule of Law is based upon a 2000 conference, jointly sponsored by the Law Library of Congress and the New York University School of Law. It features over 40 essays exploring the crucial dynamic between the concepts of democracy and the rule of law. This book is valuable to students and scholars interested in the spread of democracy in many parts of the world. It also shows how different countries with contrasting legal traditions commonly confront major problems under their constitutions.

The essays focus on significant comparative and international legal and political...