摘要：This study offers a theoretical outline for explaining the social foundations of the rule of law, with particular reference to South Korea. It proposes to explicate the conditions for the rule of law in terms of the play of power and to conceive the rule of law as a product of interplay between different forms of power instead of the withdrawal of power. In addition to the two forms of power identified in existing social theory.politico-juridical power and disciplinary power.the study advances a third notion of power, which the author terms relational power. It constructs the notion out of the amorphous force emanating from fluid personal relations and interpersonal commitment, which cultural studies of East Asia have discerned in terms of traditional affective ties or guanxi. The study maps permutations linking rule by law and the rule of law with each of the three kinds of power, and discusses how the three kinds of power complement and cancel out one another in strengthening or obstructing rule by law and the rule of law.
关键词：rule of law; rule by law; power; nepotism; Asian values; Confucianism
