Democracy and the rule of law are commonly represented as complementary and indispensable components of the modern democratic state. Whatever the truth of this formulation, it conceals the competing claims of electoral and legal accountability that are the subject of this volume. Political, legal and social theorists have long debated these contending claims. Recent socio-legal scholarship has shed empirical light on the debate. Accordingly, this volume brings together some of the landmarks of the relevant theory, including the work of such scholars as H.L.A. Hart, Lon L. Fuller and Philip Selznick and incorporates current socio-legal scholarship by such leading figures as Malcolm Feeley, Robert Kagan, Michael McCann and David Nelken.