Description
Book SynopsisThe contributions to this book analyse and submit to critique authoritarian constitutionalism as an important phenomenon in its own right, not merely as a deviant of liberal constitutionalism.
Accordingly, the fourteen studies cover a variety of authoritarian regimes from Hungary to Apartheid South Africa, from China to Venezuela; from Syria to Argentina, and discuss the renaissance of authoritarian agendas and movements, such as populism, Trumpism, nationalism and xenophobia. From different theoretical perspectives the authors elucidate how authoritarian power is constituted, exercised and transferred in the different configurations of popular participation, economic imperatives, and imaginary community.
Authoritarian Constitutionalism is of great interest to teachers, scholars and students of comparative constitutional law, comparative politics, and legal and political theory.
Contributors include: H. Alviar García, D. Davis, M.W. Dowdle, O. El Manfalouty, G. Frankenberg, R. Gargarella, J. González Jácome, D. Kennedy, E. Mérieau, S. Newton, N. Spaulding, N. Sultany, M. Wilkinson, H. Yamamoto
Trade Review'The terms ''authoritarian constitutionalism'' may appear contradictory; but as this rich and far-reaching collection of essays demonstrates it is a widespread phenomenon which must be taken seriously at a time when democracy is under threat worldwide. This superb collection serves variously as an introduction to the topic, a penetrating theoretical and jurisprudential analysis, a new lens from which to view important debates about issues such as nationhood and inequality, and a global examination of the varying forms of authoritarian constitutionalism. It also sheds uncomfortable light on what we take to be exemplary, liberal and democratic constitutionalism. The result is the elaboration of an illuminating framework with which to study global and comparative constitutionalism.' --Tony Anghie, National University of Singapore and University of Utah, US
'What if the liberal belief in a Constitution as safeguard and backbone of a democratic, inclusive and egalitarian society turned out to be wrong? The contributors to this extremely well-curated volume provide challenging evidence of the myriad ways in which constitutional texts and practices can and in fact do facilitate, endorse and empower authoritarianism. Calling for a critical reevaluation of liberal constitutionalism, this analysis - from Colombia to the US, Hungary to South Africa, Egypt to Singapore and Japan - is more than just an annotation at the margins of a self-involved, European script of ''global constitutionalism''. It emphasizes the need and value of connecting comparative constitutionalist local ethnographies in ''the North'', ''the South'', the ''West'' and ''the East'' with a thorough analysis of transnational regulatory dynamics.'
--Peer Zumbansen, King's College London, UK and Osgoode Hall Law School, York University, Canada
Table of ContentsContents: Preface Günter Frankenberg, Norman Spaulding, Helena Alviar García 1. Authoritarian Constitutionalism – Coming to terms with modernity’s nightmares Günter Frankenberg 2. Neoliberalism as a form of Authoritarian Constitutionalism Helena Alviar García 3. Authoritarian Constitutionalism: The South African Experience Dennis M. Davis 4. Infrastructural Power and its Possibilities for the Constitutional Evolution of Authoritarian Political Systems: Lessons from China Michael W. Dowdle 5. Authoritarian Constitutionalism in the Islamic World-Theoretical Considerations and Comparative Observations on Syria and Turkey Omar El Manfalouty 6. Authoritarian Constitutionalism in Latin America: From Past to Present Roberto Gargarella 7. Authoritarianism and the Narrative Power of Constitutionalism in Venezuela Jorge González-Jácome 8. Authoritarian Constitutionalism in Liberal Democracies Duncan Kennedy 9. French Authoritarian Constitutionalism and its Legacy Eugénie Mérieau 10. Plus ça change …the riddle of all Central Asian constitutions Scott Newton 11. Constitution of False Prophecies: The Illiberal Transformation of Hungary Maximilian Pichl 12. States of Authoritarianism in Liberal Democratic Regimes Norman W. Spaulding 13. Arab Constitutionalism and the Formalism of Authoritarian Constitutionalism Nimer Sultany 14. Authoritarian Liberalism as Authoritarian Constitutionalism Michael A. Wilkinson 15. An Authoritization of Japanese Constitutionalism? Hajime Yamamoto Index
