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Constitutionalism vs. democracy: Four readings. In defense of a “conversation among equals”
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February 21, 2026
Abstract
The tense relationship between constitutionalism and democracy has been a frequent topic of discussion among academics and politicians. In this Article, I present and critically discuss four different, contemporary approaches to this conflictive relationship between constitutionalism and democracy. I shall call these four different responses: (i) against democracy; (ii) for constitutionalism (or “for constitutional restoration”); (iii) against constitutionalism; and (iv) for democracy (or “for democratic restoration”). In particular, I give some reasons in favor of (some version of) the latter position (“for democracy”), which I identify with the idea of a “conversation among equals.”
Published Online: 2026-02-21
Published in Print: 2025-09-25
© 2025 by Theoretical Inquiries in Law
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Articles in the same Issue
- Frontmatter
- Introduction
- The Rise and Logics of Autocracy
- Comparative authoritarian law
- The last emperor? lessons for the prospects of liberal authoritarianism from Xi Jinping’s China
- Liberal autocracy: Possibility and stability
- Populist Challenges and Legal Resistance
- Democratic resistance under populist autocratization: Repression, civil society and strategies
- Countering authoritarian populists’ legal theory
- Why do we need a new theory for justifying constituent assemblies?
- The tyranny of truth and the tyranny of opinion: Thinking with Arendt
- Liberal Democracy Reimagined
- Liberalism in a post-liberal society: The Israeli case of redemptive politics and avant-garde liberalism
- Local democracy as local autonomy
- Rethinking Democratic Governance
- Participation versus effective government
- Constitutionalism vs. democracy: Four readings. In defense of a “conversation among equals”
- Democracy against liberalism and the punishment of elite deviance
- Net-zero democracy
