The Case Against Constitutionalism

This lecture will reprise claims made in my book: Against Constitutionalism (Harvard University Press, 2022). The book has three main aims: first, to offer an account of a concept that is regularly invoked but rarely defined; second, to show how and why that concept has recently been transformed from an anachronistic notion expressing an 18th century view of government into what is probably the world’s most influential philosophy of governing; and, third, to argue that constitutionalism advances a type of regime that democrats have good reasons to reject. I will therefore examine what constitutionalism means, explain how and why its fortunes have been transformed, present the legal and political implications of these developments, and make the case for rejecting this peculiar philosophy of governing.

UCHV and Politics Event

Sponsor: The Bouton Law Lectures Fund, Co-sponsored by PLANT