Constitutionalism and Democracy

2024/2025

Academic Year

ENG

Instruction in English

3

ECTS credits

Delivered at:

Department of Political Science and International Affairs

Course type:

Elective course

When:

3 year, 4 module

Instructor

Gál, András

Course Syllabus

Abstract

This course focuses on the concept of constitutionalism, the most important notions associated with it (like the limitation of government, separation of powers, rule of law, fundamental rights, constitutional adjudication, etc.) and their relationship with various normative conceptions of democracy. On the one hand, the course aims to provide an introduction to the most important concepts related to constitutionalism, and to analyze them from normative and empirical perspectives. On the other hand, the aim is also to engage in a critical dialogue with the meaning and assessment of the introduced concepts. Every topic will be discussed through normative analysis, examples from comparative law and by scrutinising the relevance of each topic from the perspective of comparative politics. The ten topics can be clustered in four groups. The first two sessions are dealing with the notion of constitutionalism, its legal and political aspects as well as the possible sources of constitutional legitimacy. The following two sessions focus on the notion of fundamental rights, addressing definition, source, and enforcement. The final, third block addresses various topics in constitutional politics, such as emergency provisions, militant democracy, or global constitutionalism.

Learning Objectives

• As the course material is running back-and-forth between normative and empirical approaches, the core aim of the course is to help students practice themselves in connecting these levels. This includes having a clearer grasp on how empirical research informs analytical and normative theory-building.

Expected Learning Outcomes

• connects normative and institutional questions.
• develops and practices the skill of linking institutional practices with their normative roots
• implies a more critical reflection on institutional practices, as well as a more realistic approach to normative theories
• reflects on salient contemporary issues from a conceptually and theoretically informed perspective
• develops careful idea on the roots and relevance of human rights
• discovers the legal and institutional context of contemporary problems
• understands the general logic of institutional design
• situates contemporary problems pertaining democracy, rights, elections, press freedom, etc. in the framework of the constitutionalism vs. democracy debate

Course Contents

• 1. Fundamental concepts: constitutions, constitutionalism, the rule of law, and democracy
• 2. Constitution-making
• 3. Human rights and their contentions
• 4. Constitutional adjudication
• 5. States of emergency
• 6. Militant democracy and abusive constitutionalism
• 7. Global constitutionalism
• Group presentation
• Course paper

Assessment Elements

• grade for group presentation based on position paper
  The group presentation is based on a 1,000 words-long position paper, elucidating an empirically, analytically, or normatively supported argument, and sent to the course instructor at least 24 hours prior to the respective seminar session for feedback. The presentation itself shall last for 15-20 minutes and shall be followed by a Q&A session.
• grade for the course paper
  The course paper is a 2,500 words research paper on a topic chosen by the student and agreed by the course instructor. In the course paper, students should elucidate a theoretically relevant argument against the background of a solid theoretical framework, and supported by substantial empirical, analytical, or normative evidence. The 2,500 words should include all elements of the text including the text, references, discursive footnotes, and bibliography; referencing should happen in the Notes and Bibliography Style of the Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition).
• grade for class participation
  In the class participation components, the following qualities can result in a maximal grade: • frequency and concision of class participations • originality of class contributions • connection between preparation materials and class contributions • contribution to class discussion dynamics • participation in maintaining an inspiring class environment

Interim Assessment

• 2024/2025 4th module
  0.15 * grade for class participation + 0.35 * grade for group presentation based on position paper + 0.5 * grade for the course paper

Bibliography

Recommended Core Bibliography

• Sajó, A., & Uitz, R. (2017). The Constitution of Freedom : An Introduction to Legal Constitutionalism. Oxford: OUP Oxford. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsebk&AN=1630779

Recommended Additional Bibliography

• The Oxford handbook of law and politics, , 2008

Authors

• Gal Andrash