Critiquing Modern Constitutionalism

Abstract

Modern constitutionalism is an important movement in state building. In fact, the terms of modern constitutionalism have played a formative role on how our political and legal world looks today. These terms have had a homogenizing effect, however. In this article I discuss the importance of modern constitutionalism, but also sound a cautionary note regarding the fetishization of the concept. Modern constitutionalism is not a panacea, contrary to what many Americans might think, and the hegemony of any particular constitutional model can undermine conceptual pluralism, and maybe even democracy.

Keywords: Constitutionalism, democracy, comparative constitutionalism, modern constitutionalism, jurisprudence