"We begin with two bibliographical observations. First, scholarly interest in trust is no recent phenomenon, but lately there has been a flowering of academic literature studying numerous dimensions of trust from the standpoints of philosophy, economics, sociology and psychology. The depth and richness of this literature is impressive but hardly surprising, given that trust itself is a notoriously complex, elusive, and fact-specific phenomenon. Secondly, scholarly interest in the fiduciary principle that plays such a central role in common law legal systems with a tradition of equity was scarce until the late twentieth century. However, that situation has most definitely changed (for the better), and we now enjoy an abundance of scholarship exploring the fiduciary principle in private law. Moreover, there is a growing body of work exploring ideas of fiduciary government and international law. Scholars are puzzling over fiduciaries and trust as never before. Given this, one might expect to see a flourishing of academic interest in the relation of fiduciaries and trust, especially as it is often assumed or asserted that such a relation exists and that it has descriptive or normative significance for fiduciary law and practice.

Yet this is not the case. Systematic analysis of fiduciaries and trust is rare. The aim of this volume is to help fill this gap. Our contributors explore the interactions of fiduciary law and trust, drawing on literatures on trust that have been generated in a variety of disciplines. They do so with an eye to the full scope of extension claimed for the fiduciary principle, from its heartland in private law, to its frontiers in public law and government more broadly. Overall, the volume advances an integrated and wide-ranging understanding of the relation of fiduciaries and trust that illuminates key legal and political problems, and challenges and deepens our understanding of fiduciaries and trust themselves"--.