Cluster 5 | Rule of Law Beyond Borders

Scope. This cluster explores how the rule of law is shaped through transregional connections, exchanges, and contestations across political, legal and societal contexts. Rather than treating Europe in isolation, it examines how ideas, legal norms, governance models and political strategies circulate across regions, are adapted to local contexts, and generate both convergence and divergence. Possible themes include democratic learning and diffusion, competing normative frameworks, the transnational circulation of authoritarian and illiberal practices, and the role of international organisations, civil society and non-state actors in shaping rule-of-law debates across borders and regions. One area of particular interest is how geopolitical developments and security concerns—including war, migration, sanctions, economic competition, foreign influence operations and constitutional responses to crises interact with these broader transregional dynamics and affect the resilience and legitimacy of rule of law institutions.

Rationale. Understanding the rule of law requires moving beyond national and European perspectives to examine the transregional networks, actors, and power relations through which legal and political ideas travel, are contested, and are transformed. By bringing together perspectives from different regions, this cluster highlights both shared challenges and context-specific trajectories, fostering dialogue on how the rule of law is negotiated in an increasingly interconnected and fragmented world. Security, external influence and geopolitical competition are considered as important dimensions within these broader processes, rather than as the sole focus of the discussion.