Authoritarian Rule of Law: History, Politics, Discourse

What is authoritarian rule of law, what are its conditions of possibility, and how have the compound meanings of ‘rule of law’ been strategically reconfigured to produce this oxymoronic expression of rule of law? Tracing the history and politics of Singapore through legislation, parliamentary debates, news media and events, this presentation delves into the nexus between law, power, and language to shine a light on the strange creature that is authoritarian rule of law.

The lecture is made possible by the generous support of the re:constitution program.

 

Jothie Rajah (Ph.D, LL.B) is Research Professor at the American Bar Foundation. Her research lies at the intersections of law, language, and power.  She is the author of two monographs, Authoritarian Rule of Law: Legislation, Discourse, and Legitimacy in Singapore (2012), and Discounting Life: Necropolitical Law, Culture, and the Long War on Terror (2022). Her research articles have been widely published in peer-reviewed journals, edited collections, and legal handbooks, including the Indiana Journal of Global Legal Studies; Law, Text, Culture; the Journal of Law, Culture and the Humanities; the Transnational Law Journal; and The Routledge Handbook on Law and Society.  She is Book Review Editor (with Eve Lester and Anna Reosti) for Law & Society Review, and has been a founding member and past coordinator of the Law and Society Association Collaborative Research Network on British Colonial Legalities.

Venue: Institute for Legal Studies

Time: 2 May 2023, 10:00 - 12:00