Abstract
AbstractConstitutions traffic in magic and deceit, argues Günter Frankenberg, promising freedom and democracy even as they underwrite the exercise of coercive power on a massive scale. Scholars should approach constitutions with a healthy skepticism, but, Frankenberg contends, most mainstream scholars are too credulous, especially regarding the claims of liberal constitutionalism. Comparative Constitutional Studies serves as his corrective to the perceived blind spots and predilections of mainstream comparative constitutional scholarship, and it gives attention to little-known constitutions, forgotten histories, and alternatives to liberal constitutionalism. It’s a rich, challenging, and valuable book, one that takes the reader to some off-the-beaten-track places and offers some new perspectives on well-studied landmarks. It does not, however, represent such a radical break from mainstream scholarship as the author supposes, both because the book’s own analysis, in practice, is not deeply unconventional, and because mainstream scholarship is more diverse than Frankenberg gives it credit for.
Highlights
Constitutions traffic in magic and deceit, argues Günter Frankenberg, promising freedom and democracy even as they underwrite the exercise of coercive power on a massive scale
The subtitle of Günter Frankenberg’s recent book Comparative Constitutional Studies1 is Between Magic and Deceit—and between its covers, Frankenberg practices a deceit of his own. He identifies the book as a “textbook,” but don’t believe it: this text is too original, personal, subversive, intellectually demanding, and witty to qualify
Frankenberg’s book, by contrast, undertakes a frontal assault on central aspects of what he regards as “the mainstream” in comparative constitutional law. The book challenges those scholars who work in the field to do better: To question our unstated normative assumptions, our selection of cases, and our methods
Summary
Constitutions traffic in magic and deceit, argues Günter Frankenberg, promising freedom and democracy even as they underwrite the exercise of coercive power on a massive scale. The subtitle of Günter Frankenberg’s recent book Comparative Constitutional Studies1 is Between Magic and Deceit—and between its covers, Frankenberg practices a deceit of his own.
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