Constituent power in a “community of equals”

Abstract

In this article, I use an ideal example related to what I call “a community of equals” to explore the difficult problems involved in the idea of constituent power. After presenting my version of this “egalitarian community,” I discuss some theoretical controversies that have emerged around the same matter, focusing on the work of Bruce Ackerman, Joel Colon-Rios, Yaniv Roznai, and more particularly, Andrew Arato. I argue that discussions about constituent power should neither remain confined within the old paradigm of “sovereign constitution-making,” nor become exclusively studied under the alternative paradigm of “post-sovereign constitution-making.” Constitutionalism needs to recover its democratic character if it wants to keep its egalitarian promise intact.