Promotional Information

Bruce Ackerman's recent book, 'Revolutionary Constitutions: Charismatic Leadership and the Rule of Law' (Harvard University Press, 2019) reset the terms of debate on the most important questions in constitutionalism today and forces us to rethink some of the essential questions of our time.
This edited collection is a series of essays written by leading public law academics which critically engage with Professor Ackerman's thesis.

Table of Contents

Introduction: A Global Tour of Constitutionalism
Richard Albert
1. A Political, not a Legal History of the Rise of Worldwide Constitutionalism
Dieter Grimm

PART I
THE LEGITIMATING FOUNDATIONS OF REVOLUTIONARY CONSTITUTIONALISM
2. A Defence of Non-representational Constitutionalism: Why Constitutions Need not be Representational
Alon Harel
3. Constitutionalism and Society: Ackerman on Worldwide Constitution-Making and the Role of Social Forces
Denis Baranger
4. Bruce Ackerman’s Theory of History
Roberto Gargarella
5. Constitutionalism and the Predicament of Postcolonial Independence
Aziz Rana
6. Revolution on a Human Scale: Liberal Values, Populist Theory?
Andrew Arato

PART II
CONSTITUTIONAL EVOLUTIONS AND TRANSFORMATIONS
7. Charismatic Fictions and Constitutional Politics
Tom Ginsburg
8. Uncharismatic Revolutionary Constitutionalism
Stephen Gardbaum
9. Unconventional Adaptation and the Authenticity of the Constitution
Alessandro Ferrara
10. Constitutional Revolution, Legal Positivism and Constituent Power
Yasuo Hasebe
11. The Traditions of Constitutional Change
Richard Albert

PART III
THE FUTURE OF EUROPE
12. Constitutional Crossroads: A View from Europe
Neil Walker
13. How Europe Brought Judicial Review to France: A Response to Bruce Ackerman
Daniel Halberstam
14. Constituting the Judiciary, Constituting Europe
Mitchel Lasser

PART IV
THE LAW AND POLITICS OF REVOLUTION
15. Sustaining Revolutionary Constitutions: From Movement Party to Movement Court
Menaka Guruswamy
16. The Italian Constitution as a Revolutionary Agreement
Marta Cartabia
17. Constitutional Strategy for a Polarised Society: Learning from Poland’s Post-revolutionary Misfortunes
Maciej Kisilowski
18. Choosing to Have Had a Revolution: Lessons from South Africa’s Undecided Constitutionalism
James Fowkes
19. The Race against Time
Bruce Ackerman

About the Author

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

Reviews

The contributions to this excellent volume mount a formidable critique of the thesis Ackerman advances … this collection itself makes an important contribution to comparative constitutional law.
*The Edinburgh Law Review*