Editors' note.

• Author: Friedman, Josh

On behalf of the Executive Board and editorial staff, we are pleased to present volume 45.1 of the Stanford Journal of International Law. The four articles published in this issue touch on a wide variety of topics, including: the rule of law and its promotion abroad, the history and current position of the Russian Prokuratura, arguments for and against recognizing Somaliland as a de jure state, and how best to enforce positive socioeconomic rights in the South African Constitutional Court. We believe that each article makes important scholarly contributions in its respective field, and sincerely hope that you enjoy them.

Amichai Magen, Lecturer in Law at Stanford Law School, opens this issue with his article, The Rule of Law and Its Promotion Abroad: Three Problems of Scope. Dr. Magen examines "scope" in rule-of-law reform by arguing that the democratic conceptualization of the rule of the law is a new and provocative field. He does this by taking issue with the existing literature and proposing an alternative theory of rule of law. Thomas Corothers, Vice President of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, has endorsed this Article, calling it "excellent, acute, insightful, and original."

Jonathan Greenberg, Lecturer in Law at Stanford Law School, then argues in his article, The Kremlin's Eye: the 21st Century Prokuratura in the Russian Authoritarian Tradition, that the Russian Prokuratura is an often-neglected subject that is extremely pertinent to ongoing discussions about the rule of law (or lack thereof) in Russia. Understanding Russian law and order is increasingly important in both legal academic and policy circles given its assertive energy policy, moves away from democratic liberalism, and evolving role in international relations. This piece fills a void in the academic literature by analyzing in-depth the origins of this powerful institution, and tracking its arguably corrosive role in Russian judicial development since 1722 to the present day.

Brad Poore, a J.D. candidate at the University of California-Davis Law School, then argues in his Article, Somaliland. Shackled to a Failed State, that despite widespread violence and civil unrest throughout much of Africa, there is a small corner of the Horn of Africa, however, that nurtures a fragile peace--Somaliland. What has held back Somaliland's development, he advocates, is that it...