Michel Rosenfeld

András Sajó

The field of comparative constitutional law has grown immensely over the past couple of decades. Once a minor and obscure adjunct to the field of domestic constitutional law, comparative constitutional law has now moved front and centre. Driven by the global spread of democratic government and the expansion of international human rights law, the prominence and visibility of the field, among judges, politicians, and scholars has grown exponentially. Even in the United States, where domestic constitutional exclusivism has traditionally held a firm grip, use of comparative constitutional materials has become the subject of a lively and much publicized controversy among various justices of the U.S. Supreme Court. The trend towards harmonization and international borrowing has been controversial. Whereas it seems fair to assume that there ought to be great convergence among industrialized democracies over the uses and functions of commercial contracts, that seems far from the case in constitutional law. Can a parliamentary democracy be compared to a presidential one? A federal republic to a unitary one? Moreover, what about differences in ideology or national identity? Can constitutional rights deployed in a libertarian context be profitably compared to those at work in a social welfare context? Is it perilous to compare minority rights in a multi-ethnic state to those in its ethnically homogeneous counterparts? These controversies form the background to the field of comparative constitutional law, challenging not only legal scholars, but also those in other fields, such as philosophy and political theory. Providing the first single-volume, comprehensive reference resource, the 'Oxford Handbook of Comparative Constitutional Law' will be an essential road map to the field for all those working within it, or encountering it for the first time. Leading experts in the field examine the history and methodology of the discipline, the central concepts of constitutional law, constitutional processes, and institutions - from legislative reform to judicial interpretation, rights, and emerging trends.

The Oxford Handbook of Comparative Constitutional Law

Andras Sajo

Katharine Lauer

This work provides a complete record of the discussisons held and papers presented at a conference on `The Individual v. The State', held in Budapest at the Central European University, which focused on various theories about the nature and role of rights. Rights have the function of protecting the individual against collectivity, against restrictions of individual freedom and against the imposition of burdens on individuals for the sake of the common good. Joseph Raz argues in his introduction that rights cannot be understood in terms of these functions as this would distort the understanding of their role in morality and law. The book is divided into six parts, covering the following key topics: Concepts of Rights Transition to Rights--Rights in Transition Equality and Social Rights Minorities and Citizenship The International Dimension Economics of Rights It shows how varied the understanding of rights is among different theorists and in the practice of different countries, and will be of prime interest to academics involved in legal theory.

Western Rights?:Post-Communist Application

Stephen Holmes

Renáta Uitz

The Routledge Handbook of IIliberalism is the first authoritative reference work dedicated to illiberalism as a complex social, political, cultural, legal, and mental phenomenon. Although illiberalism is most often discussed in political and constitutional terms, its study cannot be limited to such narrow frames. This Handbook comprises sixty individual chapters authored by an internationally recognized group of experts who present perspectives and viewpoints from a wide range of academic disciplines. Chapters are devoted to different facets of illiberalism, including the history of the idea and its competitors, its implications for the economy, society, government and the international order, and its contemporary iterations in representative countries and regions. The Routledge Handbook of IIliberalism will form an important component of any library's holding; it will be of benefit as an academic reference, as well as being an indispensable resource for practitioners, among them journalists, policy makers and analysts, who wish to gain an informed understanding of this complex phenomenon.

Routledge Handbook of Illiberalism

There is widespread agreement that democracy today faces unprecedented challenges. Populism has pushed governments in new and surprising constitutional directions. Analysing the constitutional system of illiberal democracies (from Venezuela to Poland) and illiberal phenomena in 'mature democracies' that are justified in the name of 'the will of the people', this book explains that this drift to mild despotism is not authoritarianism, but an abuse of constitutionalism. Illiberal governments claim that they are as democratic and constitutional as any other. They also claim that they are more popular and therefore more genuine because their rule is based on conservative, plebeian and 'patriotic' constitutional and rule of law values rather than the values liberals espouse. However, this book shows that these claims are deeply deceptive - an abuse of constitutionalism and the rule of law, not a different conception of these ideas.

Governance in Illiberal Democracy

Ruling by Cheating

Lorri Rutt Bentch

This book is a collection of contributions by leading scholars on theoretical and contemporary problems of militant democracy. The term 'militant democracy' was first coined in 1937. In a militant democracy preventive measures are aimed, at least in practice, at restricting people who would openly contest and challenge democratic institutions and fundamental preconditions of democracy like secularism - even though such persons act within the existing limits of, and rely on the rights offered by, democracy. In the shadow of the current wars on terrorism, which can also involve rights restrictions, the overlapping though distinct problem of militant democracy seems to be lost, notwithstanding its importance for emerging and established democracies. This volume will be of particular significance outside the German-speaking world, since the bulk of the relevant literature on militant democracy is in the German language. The book is of interest to academics in the field of law, political studies and constitutionalism.

Militant Democracy

Stephen Kotkin

Based on two international conferences at Princeton University and the Central European University, this is a handy guide to the problem of corruption in transition countries, with an important comparative content. Political Corruption in Transition is distinguished from similar publications by at least two features: by the quality of the carefully selected and edited essays ans by its original treatment. Instead of the usual preaching and excommunications, this Skeptic`s Handbook represents down-to-earth realism. Combines general issues with case studies and original research. The geographic coverage is wide, though it is ideas rather than a geography that drive the volume`s organization.

A Sceptic's Handbook

Political Corruption in Transition

The field of comparative constitutional law is vast and diverse, international and interdisciplinary. The first single source of reference on the topic, the entries in Handbook are written by leading authorities and discuss the most important subjects in the field, covering the history and development of the discipline, core concepts, structure and interpretations, institutions, rights, and emerging trends. It is an invaluable resource for everyone in the field.

"This book addresses the issue of public demonstrations, looking at the experiences of established democracies (EU member states and USA) and countries in transition. The approach of the book is to cover the problem not as a strictly legal one, but to combine the constitutional and human rights aspects with the historical, political and philosophical dimensions. The recent history of mass protests in democracies and semi-democracies raises a number of concerns. Some of these concerns are related to the proper balance between the right to demonstrate and its impacts on third parties." --Book Jacket.

András Sajó

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