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Global Canons in an Age of Contestation: Debating Foundational Texts of Constitutional Democracy and Human Rights

Online ISBN:
9780191956942
Print ISBN:
9780192866158
Publisher:
Oxford University Press
Book

Global Canons in an Age of Contestation: Debating Foundational Texts of Constitutional Democracy and Human Rights

Sujit Choudhry (ed.),
Sujit Choudhry
(ed.)

Head of Chambers

Haki Chambers Global
,
Canada
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Michaela Hailbronner (ed.),
Michaela Hailbronner
(ed.)

Chair of International and German Public Law and Comparative Law, Law Faculty

University of Münster
,
Germany
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Mattias Kumm (ed.)
Mattias Kumm
(ed.)

Inge Rennert Professor of Law

New York University School of Law
,
USA
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Published online:
15 May 2024
Published in print:
26 June 2024
Online ISBN:
9780191956942
Print ISBN:
9780192866158
Publisher:
Oxford University Press

Abstract

Comparative constitutionalism emerged in its current form against the backdrop of the fall of the Berlin Wall and the end of the Cold War. As that backdrop recedes into the past, it is being replaced by a more multi-polar and confusing world, and the current state of the discipline of comparative constitutionalism reflects this fragmentation and uncertainty. There is much to like about this state of affairs. It has opened up space for new, more varied, and increasingly critical voices seeking to improve the project of democratic constitutionalism. But it also raises questions: What of the past, if anything, is worth preserving? Which more recent parts should be defining of the field? In this context, this book asks which are—or should be—the canonical texts of comparative constitutionalism. The theoretical scope of the contributions is broad and ambitious, selecting primary material from beyond the existing textbooks to engage the concept of a canon. This framework provides significant insights about inclusion and exclusion, and proposes candidates for canonical and anti-canonical materials. The result is a wide-ranging discussion, among many voices, of how particular judgments and other primary texts have shaped or should shape our understanding of central elements of democratic constitutionalism from a comparative law perspective. This book offers not a prescription of one universal understanding, but a platform for a broader conversation about the field and the future of constitutional democracy.

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