A Book Symposium on Power to the People: Constitutionalism in the Age of Populism

The Edinburgh Centre for Constitutional Law presents

A Book Symposium on Power to the People: Constitutionalism in the Age of Populism

 

Speakers:

• Professor Bojan Bugarič, Professor of Law, University of Sheffield
• Professor Mark Tushnet, William Nelson Cromwell Professor of Law (Emeritus), Harvard Law School

Discussants:

• Dr Elisenda Casanas Adam, Edinburgh Law School
• Dr Ana Cannilla, University of Glasgow
• Professor Neil Walker, Edinburgh Law School

About the event

Self-described populist leaders around the world are dismantling their nation's constitutions. This has led to a widespread view that populism as such is inconsistent with constitutionalism. This book proposes that some forms of populism are inconsistent with constitutionalism, while others aren't. Context and detail matter.

Power to the People offers a thin definition of constitutionalism that people from the progressive left to the conservative right should be able to agree on even if they would supplement the thin definition withn other more partisan ideas. This is followed by a similarly basic definition of populism. Comparing the two, this book argues that one facet of populism -its suspicion of institutions that are strongly entrenched against change by political majorities-is sometimes inconsistent with constitutionalism’s thinly understood definition.

This event is in-person only. If you would like to attend, please email eccl@ed.ac.uk in advance to confirm your attendance.