Introduction: Fusion and Creation

Abstract

This book aims in equal parts at fusion and creation. It combines insights from two vast and important fi elds – deliberative democracy and constitutionalism. And, taken as a whole, it yields not merely a sum of parts, but something singular and new. All of the book’s chapters respond to aspects of the following questions: how do judges, ordinary citizens, legislators and others deliberate about constitutional norms? And how do the features of a constitution, such as human rights, the separation of powers and federalism, affect how democracies deliberate? These questions invite authors to describe two broad strands of connection between the fi elds, focusing at turns on how democratic deliberation shapes constitutionalism and how constitutionalism shapes democratic deliberation. Show more