Liberal Constitutionalism and its Contemporary Challenges

Liberal Constitutionalism and its Contemporary Challenges PDF Author: Gordon Albert Babst
Publisher: Springer Nature
ISBN: 3031536029
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 192

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Book Description

Liberal Constitutionalism and its Contemporary Challenges

Liberal Constitutionalism and its Contemporary Challenges PDF Author: Gordon Albert Babst
Publisher: Springer Nature
ISBN: 3031536029
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 192

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Book Description


The Classical Liberal Constitution

The Classical Liberal Constitution PDF Author: Richard A. Epstein
Publisher: Harvard University Press
ISBN: 0674727800
Category : Law
Languages : en
Pages : 889

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Book Description
American liberals and conservatives alike take for granted a progressive view of the Constitution that took root in the early twentieth century. Richard Epstein laments this complacency which, he believes, explains America’s current economic malaise and political gridlock. Steering clear of well-worn debates between defenders of originalism and proponents of a living Constitution, Epstein employs close textual reading, historical analysis, and political and economic theory to urge a return to the classical liberal theory of governance that animated the framers’ original text, and to the limited government this theory supports. “[An] important and learned book.” —Gary L. McDowell, Times Literary Supplement “Epstein has now produced a full-scale and full-throated defense of his unusual vision of the Constitution. This book is his magnum opus...Much of his book consists of comprehensive and exceptionally detailed accounts of how constitutional provisions ought to be understood...All of Epstein’s particular discussions are instructive, and most of them are provocative...Epstein has written a passionate, learned, and committed book.” —Cass R. Sunstein, New Republic

Constitutionalism beyond Liberalism

Constitutionalism beyond Liberalism PDF Author: Michael W. Dowdle
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 1316943089
Category : Law
Languages : en
Pages : 375

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Book Description
Constitutionalism beyond Liberalism bridges the gap between comparative constitutional law and constitutional theory. The volume uses the constitutional experience of countries in the global South - China, India, South Africa, Pakistan, Indonesia, and Malaysia - to transcend the liberal conceptions of constitutionalism that currently dominate contemporary comparative constitutional discourse. The alternative conceptions examined include political constitutionalism, societal constitutionalism, state-based (Rousseau-ian) conceptions of constitutionalism, and geopolitical conceptions of constitutionalism. Through these examinations, the volume seeks to expand our appreciation of the human possibilities of constitutionalism, exploring constitutionalism not merely as a restriction on the powers of government, but also as a creating collective political and social possibilities in diverse geographical and historical settings.

Moral Foundations of Constitutional Thought

Moral Foundations of Constitutional Thought PDF Author: Graham Walker
Publisher: Princeton University Press
ISBN: 1400861446
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 200

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Book Description
Graham Walker boldly recasts the debate over issues like constitutional interpretation and judicial review, and challenges contemporary thinking not only about specifically constitutional questions but also about liberalism, law, justice, and rights. Walker targets the "skeptical" moral nihilism of leading American judges and writers, on both the political left and right, charging that their premises undermine the authority of the Constitution, empty its moral words of any determinate meaning, and make nonsense of ostensibly normative theories. But he is even more worried about those who desire to conduct constitutional government by direct recourse to an authoritative moral truth. Augustine's political ethics, Walker argues, offers a solution--a way to embrace substantive goodness while relativizing its embodiment in politics and law. Walker sees in Augustinian theory an understanding of the rule of law that prevents us from mistaking law for moral truth. Pointing out how the tensions in that theory resonate with the normative ambivalence of America's liberal constitutionalism, he shows that Augustine can provide successful but decidedly nonliberal grounds for the artifices and compromises characteristic of law in a liberal state. Originally published in 1990. The Princeton Legacy Library uses the latest print-on-demand technology to again make available previously out-of-print books from the distinguished backlist of Princeton University Press. These editions preserve the original texts of these important books while presenting them in durable paperback and hardcover editions. The goal of the Princeton Legacy Library is to vastly increase access to the rich scholarly heritage found in the thousands of books published by Princeton University Press since its founding in 1905.

The Language of Liberal Constitutionalism

The Language of Liberal Constitutionalism PDF Author: Howard Schweber
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 1139462598
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 15

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Book Description
This book explores two basic questions regarding constitutional theory. First, in view of a commitment to democratic self-rule and widespread disagreement on questions of value, how is the creation of a legitimate constitutional regime possible? Second, what must be true about a constitution if the regime that it supports is to retain its claim to legitimacy? Howard Schweber shows that the answers to these questions appear in a theory of constitutional language that combines democratic theory with constitutional philosophy. The creation of a legitimate constitutional regime depends on a shared commitment to a particular and specialized form of language. Out of this simple observation, Schweber develops arguments about the characteristics of constitutional language, the necessary differences between constitutional language and the language of ordinary law or morality, as well as the authority of officials such as judges to engage in constitutional review of laws.

Liberal Constitutionalism, Marriage, and Sexual Orientation

Liberal Constitutionalism, Marriage, and Sexual Orientation PDF Author: Gordon Albert Babst
Publisher: Teaching Texts in Law and Politics
ISBN:
Category : Law
Languages : en
Pages : 172

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Book Description
Liberal Constitutionalism, Marriage, and Sexual Orientation: A Contemporary Case for Dis-Establishment uses constitutional theory and political philosophy to shed light on an elusive feature of American jurisprudence: the establishment of a sectarian preference in the law to the detriment of American citizens who happen to be gay or lesbian and who wish to exercise their fundamental right to marry. Reviewing aspects of liberal-democratic theory, marriage law, and pertinent analogies that deal with the right to marry, Gordon Albert Babst presents the notion of the «shadow establishment, » which makes the best sense of a constitutional affirmation of bias against same-sex marriage and gay persons in the law.

The Supreme Court and the Idea of Constitutionalism

The Supreme Court and the Idea of Constitutionalism PDF Author: Steven J. Kautz
Publisher: University of Pennsylvania Press
ISBN: 0812221907
Category : Law
Languages : en
Pages : 328

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Book Description
In this volume distinguished constitutional scholars aim to move debate over the Supreme Court beyond the soundbites that divide us to fundamental questions about the nature of constitutionalism.

Against Constitutionalism

Against Constitutionalism PDF Author: Martin Loughlin
Publisher: Harvard University Press
ISBN: 0674268024
Category : LAW
Languages : en
Pages : 273

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Book Description
A critical analysis of the transformation of constitutionalism from an increasingly irrelevant theory of limited government into the most influential philosophy of governance in the world today. Constitutionalism is universally commended because it has never been precisely defined. Martin Loughlin argues that it is not some vague amalgam of liberal aspirations but a specific and deeply contentious governing philosophy. An Enlightenment idea that in the nineteenth century became America's unique contribution to the philosophy of government, constitutionalism was by the mid-twentieth century widely regarded as an anachronism. Advocating separated powers and limited government, it was singularly unsuited to the political challenges of the times. But constitutionalism has since undergone a remarkable transformation, giving the Constitution an unprecedented role in society. Once treated as a practical instrument to regulate government, the Constitution has been raised to the status of civil religion, a symbolic representation of collective unity. Against Constitutionalism explains why this has happened and its far-reaching consequences. Spearheaded by a "rights revolution" that subjects governmental action to comprehensive review through abstract principles, judges acquire greatly enhanced power as oracles of the regime's "invisible constitution." Constitutionalism is refashioned as a theory maintaining that governmental authority rests not on collective will but on adherence to abstract standards of "public reason." And across the world the variable practices of constitutional government have been reshaped by its precepts. Constitutionalism, Loughlin argues, now propagates the widespread belief that social progress is advanced not through politics, electoral majorities, and legislative action, but through innovative judicial interpretation. The rise of constitutionalism, commonly conflated with constitutional democracy, actually contributes to its degradation.

Constitutionalism and the Separation of Powers

Constitutionalism and the Separation of Powers PDF Author: M. J. C. Vile
Publisher:
ISBN: 9780865971752
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
Vile traces the history of the doctrine from its rise during the English Civil War, through its development in the eighteenth century -- through subsequent political thought and constitution-making in Britain, France, and the United States.

Abusive Constitutional Borrowing

Abusive Constitutional Borrowing PDF Author: Rosalind Dixon
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0192893769
Category : Authoritarianism
Languages : en
Pages : 241

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Book Description
Law is fast globalizing as a field, and many lawyers, judges and political leaders are engaged in a process of comparative borrowing. But this new form of legal globalization has darksides: it is not just a source of inspiration for those seeking to strengthen and improve democratic institutions and policies. It is increasingly an inspiration - and legitimation device - for those seeking to erode democracy by stealth, under the guise of a form of faux liberal democratic cover. Abusive Constitutional Borrowing: Legal globalization and the subversion of liberal democracy outlines this phenomenon, how it succeeds, and what we can do to prevent it. This book address current patterns of democratic retrenchment and explores its multiple variants and technologies, considering the role of legitimating ideologies that help support different modes of abusive constitutionalism. An important contribution to both legal and political scholarship, this book will of interest to all those working in the legal and political disciplines of public law, constitutional theory, political theory, and political science.