The concept of "the public interest" is often used in legal and political discourse, lending an air of legitimacy and respectability to exercises of power. However the term is rarely defined in any meaningful sense. This book considers abstract concepts of public interest from the literature of law, political science, and economics. Using a series of case-studies from Britain and the USA, Feintuck explores how the concept is used in practice. Finally, Feintuck considers the legal forms in which the public interest might be manifested to offer legitimate and effective protection to vulnerable democratic values by the regulation of private power.