Revolutionary Constitutionalism: Law, Legitimacy, Power

Richard Albert is William Stamps Farish Professor of Law at the University of Texas, Austin.

This book, the result of a major international conference held at Yale Law School, contains contributions from leading scholars in public law who engage critically with Bruce Ackerman's path-breaking book, Revolutionary Constitutions: Charismatic Leadership and the Rule of Law. The book also features a rebuttal chapter by Ackerman in which he responds directly to the contributors' essays.Some advance Ackerman's theory, others attack it, and still others refine it - but all agree that the ideas in his book reset the terms of debate on the most important subjects in constitutionalism today: from the promise and perils of populism to the causes and consequences of democratic backsliding, from the optimal models of constitutional design to the forms and limits of constitutional amendment, and from the role of courts in politics to how we identify when the mythical 'people' have spoken. A must-read for all interested in the current state of constitutionalism.

Critical engagement with Bruce Ackerman's thesis on constitutionalism

Introduction: A Global Tour of ConstitutionalismRichard Albert1. A Political, not a Legal History of the Rise of Worldwide ConstitutionalismDieter GrimmPART ITHE LEGITIMATING FOUNDATIONS OF REVOLUTIONARY CONSTITUTIONALISM2. A Defence of Non-representational Constitutionalism: Why Constitutions Need not be RepresentationalAlon Harel3. Constitutionalism and Society: Ackerman on Worldwide Constitution-Making and the Role of Social ForcesDenis Baranger4. Bruce Ackerman's Theory of HistoryRoberto Gargarella5. Constitutionalism and the Predicament of Postcolonial IndependenceAziz Rana6. Revolution on a Human Scale: Liberal Values, Populist Theory?Andrew AratoPART IICONSTITUTIONAL EVOLUTIONS AND TRANSFORMATIONS7. Charismatic Fictions and Constitutional PoliticsTom Ginsburg8. Uncharismatic Revolutionary ConstitutionalismStephen Gardbaum9. Unconventional Adaptation and the Authenticity of the ConstitutionAlessandro Ferrara10. Constitutional Revolution, Legal Positivism and Constituent PowerYasuo Hasebe11. The Traditions of Constitutional ChangeRichard AlbertPART IIITHE FUTURE OF EUROPE12. Constitutional Crossroads: A View from EuropeNeil Walker13. How Europe Brought Judicial Review to France: A Response to Bruce AckermanDaniel Halberstam14. Constituting the Judiciary, Constituting EuropeMitchel LasserPART IVTHE LAW AND POLITICS OF REVOLUTION15. Sustaining Revolutionary Constitutions: From Movement Party to Movement CourtMenaka Guruswamy16. The Italian Constitution as a Revolutionary AgreementMarta Cartabia17. Constitutional Strategy for a Polarised Society: Learning from Poland's Post-revolutionary MisfortunesMaciej Kisilowski18. Choosing to Have Had a Revolution: Lessons from South Africa's Undecided ConstitutionalismJames Fowkes19. The Race against TimeBruce Ackerman