Last modified: 20 Jun 2025 15:14
Developing countries are often described as lawless lands, where anything goes. We will see in this course that law has been crucial to many of them. The problem is that the rich and powerful can put themselves above it, which means that law often ends up serving to keep the poor in their place.
“Rule of law” means that the law should apply to everyone, including the rich and powerful. In recent years, there have been increasing calls for rule of law across the global South.
We will study attempts to hold the rich and powerful to account in a variety of world contexts. Half of these will be in Latin America, but students will be able to focus their projects on any world region.
| Study Type | Undergraduate | Level | 4 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Term | Second Term | Credit Points | 15 credits (7.5 ECTS credits) |
| Campus | Aberdeen | Sustained Study | No |
| Co-ordinators |
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Developing countries are often described as lawless lands, where anything goes. We will see in this course that law has been crucial to many of them. The problem is that the rich and powerful can put themselves above it, which means that law often ends up serving to keep the poor in their place.
“Rule of law” means that the law should apply to everyone, including the rich and powerful. In recent years, there have been increasing calls for rule of law across the global South.
Students will learn about attempts to hold the rich and powerful to account in a variety of world contexts. Half of these will be in Latin America, but students will be able to focus their projects on any world region.
The course will also cover the significance of rule of law for politics, the economy, the environment, and for vulnerable groups including rural and urban poor, women, LGBTI and indigenous peoples.
Information on contact teaching time is available from the course guide.
| Assessment Type | Summative | Weighting | 20 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Assessment Weeks | Feedback Weeks | |||
| Feedback |
Students will lead class discussion on the week’s topic in a 30-minute segment of the seminar, preparing and posing questions for other students to debate, and selecting appropriate dynamics such as class debates or small-group discussion, following detailed instructions provided by the lecturer. Feedback will be provided at the end of the class to the group leading discussion that day. |
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| Knowledge Level | Thinking Skill | Outcome |
|---|---|---|
| Procedural | Evaluate | Understand how rule of law is promoted and violated in a variety of global contexts, through engaging with diverse course materials and carrying out research. |
| Reflection | Create | Lead discussion in a class segment, preparing and posing questions for other students to debate, as well as participating effectively in class discussion led by others. |
| Assessment Type | Summative | Weighting | 20 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Assessment Weeks | Feedback Weeks | |||
| Feedback |
Students will communicate the provisional findings of their research project in a 3-minute Panopto video, and will receive feedback in time to consider it for their final project report. |
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| Knowledge Level | Thinking Skill | Outcome |
|---|---|---|
| Procedural | Evaluate | Understand how rule of law is promoted and violated in a variety of global contexts, through engaging with diverse course materials and carrying out research. |
| Reflection | Create | Carry out research and communicate your provisional findings in a video, and your conclusions in a format of your choosing, reflecting on how you have tailored this for a specific audience. |
| Assessment Type | Summative | Weighting | 5 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Assessment Weeks | Feedback Weeks | |||
| Feedback |
Each week a different volunteer will be sought to peer review the participation in the 30-minute segment of class discussion led by a group of students, using a detailed set of criteria provided by the lecturer and discuss with the class at the start of the course. This is designed to motivate students to participate in that discussion and to encourage the volunteers (who will not normally participate that week) to reflect on how to participate effectively in group discussion. |
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| Knowledge Level | Thinking Skill | Outcome |
|---|---|---|
| Procedural | Evaluate | Understand how rule of law is promoted and violated in a variety of global contexts, through engaging with diverse course materials and carrying out research. |
| Reflection | Create | Lead discussion in a class segment, preparing and posing questions for other students to debate, as well as participating effectively in class discussion led by others. |
| Assessment Type | Summative | Weighting | 55 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Assessment Weeks | Feedback Weeks | |||
| Feedback |
Students will carry out research on a topic of their choosing, with guidance from the lecturer, related to rule of law. After communicating their provisional findings in a short Panopto video (separate, summative assessment), students will present their final conclusions in a format of their choosing. Detailed guidance will be provided on the following formats - other formats must be discussed with the lecturer: Unless they have written an essay, students will be required to reflect in 400-600 words on how they have tailored their presentation for a specific audience, whether academic researchers, practitioners and policy makers, or wider publics such as a newspaper readership. |
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| Knowledge Level | Thinking Skill | Outcome |
|---|---|---|
| Procedural | Evaluate | Understand how rule of law is promoted and violated in a variety of global contexts, through engaging with diverse course materials and carrying out research. |
| Reflection | Create | Carry out research and communicate your provisional findings in a video, and your conclusions in a format of your choosing, reflecting on how you have tailored this for a specific audience. |
There are no assessments for this course.
| Assessment Type | Summative | Weighting | 75 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Assessment Weeks | Feedback Weeks | |||
| Feedback | ||||
| Knowledge Level | Thinking Skill | Outcome |
|---|---|---|
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| Assessment Type | Summative | Weighting | 75 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Assessment Weeks | Feedback Weeks | |||
| Feedback | ||||
| Knowledge Level | Thinking Skill | Outcome |
|---|---|---|
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| Assessment Type | Summative | Weighting | 25 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Assessment Weeks | Feedback Weeks | |||
| Feedback |
Students will communicate the provisional findings of their research project in a 3-minute Panopto video, and will receive feedback in time to consider it for their final project report. |
|||
| Knowledge Level | Thinking Skill | Outcome |
|---|---|---|
|
|
||
| Knowledge Level | Thinking Skill | Outcome |
|---|---|---|
| Procedural | Evaluate | Understand how rule of law is promoted and violated in a variety of global contexts, through engaging with diverse course materials and carrying out research. |
| Reflection | Create | Lead discussion in a class segment, preparing and posing questions for other students to debate, as well as participating effectively in class discussion led by others. |
| Reflection | Create | Carry out research and communicate your provisional findings in a video, and your conclusions in a format of your choosing, reflecting on how you have tailored this for a specific audience. |
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