Situating the Debate on Global Constitutionalism

ICON, Vol. 8, No. 3, pp. 611-635, 2010

25 Pages Posted: 11 Jul 2011 Last revised: 23 Apr 2014

Date Written: December 1, 2010

Abstract

The question of whether a global constitution exists or is emerging, and, if so, what form it takes, is one of the most intriguing and controversial topics of recent international legal debate. The article attempts to shed some light on this debate from the perspective of public international law by situating the predominant visions of global constitutionalism in relation to four dimensions that together make up the bulk of contemporary contributions. I call these four dimensions: social constitutionalism, institutional constitutionalism, normative constitutionalism, and analogical constitutionalism. Under critical scrutiny, it becomes apparent that, for all their complexity and diversity, the prevailing notions of global constitutionalism are all confined to the trajectories of liberal democratic political thought. This is determined by way of the identification of five of the key themes of liberal democratic constitutionalism. It is put forward that such confinement gives rise to concerns regarding the limitations of the current debate on global constitutionalism.

Suggested Citation

Schwöbel-Patel, Christine, Situating the Debate on Global Constitutionalism (December 1, 2010). ICON, Vol. 8, No. 3, pp. 611-635, 2010, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=1883509

Christine Schwöbel-Patel (Contact Author)

University of Warwick - School of Law ( email )

Gibbet Hill Road
Coventry CV4 7AL, CV4 7AL
United Kingdom

HOME PAGE: http://https://warwick.ac.uk/fac/soc/law/people?id=25504b090aaed74b111e4d096c3cf151%20

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