Dynamics of Constitutional Cultures

Werner Gephart; Jan Christoph Suntrup

doi:10.5771/9783465145516

Summary

Although it has been claimed that we live in an age of constitutionalism, national and transnational constitutions neither appear as uniform models nor as uncontested means of setting the rules of the game in the political, economic, or religious domain. This book aims to convince readers of a cultural perspective on constitutions. Tying in with the research approach of the Käte Hamburger Center “Law as Culture”, the term “constitutional culture” evokes the multidimensional life of a constitution that cannot be restricted to its – though essential – textual normative provisions and authorized interpreters. Grasping the foundational force and societal influence of constitutions by means of cultural theory and analysis also calls for the investigation of narratives, symbols, rituals, materials, and places in which constitutions are framed and reproduced. With this objective in mind, the contributions to this volume, written by lawyers, sociologists, and political scientists, illuminate different dimensions of the cultural manifestation of constitutions as well as contemporary legal, political, and social struggles arising around their shape and range of influence in various regions of the world.

Keywords

Search publication

Bibliographic data

Publication year: 2021
Publication date: 01.11.2020
ISBN-Print: 978-3-465-04551-9
ISBN-Online: 978-3-465-14551-6
Publisher: Klostermann, Frankfurt am Main
Series: Recht als Kultur
Volume: 25
Language: English
Pages: 298
Product type: Edited Book

Titelei/Inhaltsverzeichnis No access Pages 1 - 6
Introduction: Analyzing Constitutions from a Cultural Perspective No access Pages 7 - 20 W. Gephart, J. Chr. Suntrup
1. Precedent across Constitutional Cultures No access Pages 21 - 42 L. M. Solan
2. Constitutions Written in Stone? Considering the Architecture of Supreme and Constitutional Courts No access Pages 43 - 66 P. Branco
3. Constitutions’ Materialities: Constitutional Cultures Engraved in Stone, Marmorated Documents and Parchments No access Pages 67 - 86 W. Gephart
4. Constitutional Images No access Pages 87 - 104 D. Schulz
1. Post-socialist Constitutionalism in Central and Eastern Europe: Toward a Populist Constitutional Consensus? No access Pages 105 - 132 M. Bucholc, D. Witte
2. The Culture War in Israel and the Nation-State Law No access Pages 133 - 150 M. Mautner
3. A Clash of Constitutional Cultures: The Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Iran, its Origins and its Evolution No access Pages 151 - 184 M. Künkler
4. The Failed Project of Constitutional Engineering: Legal Diversity, Identity Politics, and Power Struggles in Afghanistan No access Pages 185 - 210 J. Chr. Suntrup
5. Constitutionalism and Political Choices in a Global Perspective No access Pages 211 - 238 M. Herdegen
1. Societal Constitutionalism: Nine Variations on a Theme by David Sciulli No access Pages 239 - 268 G. Teubner
2. Transnational Constitutionalism, Discursive Pluralism, and Constitutional Resistance No access Pages 269 - 292 Paul Blokker
About the Authors No access Pages 293 - 298