It goes without saying that a breakdown in rule of law prohibits economic growth and disincentivizes entrepreneurs. In the paper we released today, the fourth in our Expeditionary Economics Research Series, 
"Closing the Transition Gap: The Rule of Law Imperative in Stabilization Environments", author Brock Dahl examines the strategic, moral and legal arguments that creating and sustaining rule of law institutions is an imperative from the very first day of an intervention or regime change. Brock also offers a combined reading of international humanitarian and international human rights law that implies that intervening forces are obligated to prioritize rule of law and should leverage local actors to do so also. Failure, he argues, results in what he terms a "transition gap", which can be catastrophic to the viability of a new government and allow criminal activity, violent extremism and private and public sector corruption to flourish.
Abstract and bio after the jump.
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