China’s socialist constitutional identity

Abstract

This article explores the dynamics of China’s socialist constitutional identity. It identifies three disharmonic conditions aminating the dynamics: the competing socialist, liberal, universal, and Confucian commitments internal to China’s Constitution; the external discrepancy between the socialist constitutional commitments and social realities; and the normative gap between socialist and generic constitutional identity. The article further generalizes judicial, legislative, activist, and discursive models of dynamics of China’s socialist constitutional identity. Accordingly, China’s socialist constitutional identity is variously shaped by adjudication, legislation, social movement, and public discourse.