Kommentar |
Beschreibung: The course has two main purposes. First is to introduce constitutionalism as one of the fundamental concepts and principles of modern democratic systems. Second is to examine the current crisis of liberal democracies and the phenomenon of democratic decay by focusing on constitutionalism and legality. Following a theoretical and historical introduction to constitutionalism, the course will focus on the contemporary cases of democratic decay, or rule of law backsliding. The main country cases are Hungary, Poland, and Turkey. In addition to these main cases, the course bring to discussion cases such as the US, the UK, and Venezuela to work on the role of constitutions and constitutional amendments in democratic degradation. The participants learn about the theory of constitutionalism, major debates on the relation between constitutionalism and democracy, and contemporary cases of democratic decay where constitutions and law have been instrumentalized to steer political regimes towards authoritarian directions. |