Chile recently saw the defeat at a national referendum of a proposed new democratic constitution. What should we make of this result, and what does it mean for the future of democratic constitutional reform in Chile and globally? Did Chilean constitution-makers try to achieve too much, too fast? Was the vote the product of opposition disinformation, or popular misunderstanding? Or was the defeat a product of deeper forces pushing against the chances of successful democratic constitutional transformation? In this podcast, Rosalind Dixon explores these questions with an expert Chilean and compar ..read more

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This podcast discusses the notion of ‘post-juristocracy’ – whether we're seeing the end of the broad global shift toward more powerful courts worldwide, which has been an ongoing trend for the almost 80 years post-World War II. These developments include the declining legitimacy of apex courts in states like the USA and India, preventive actions against the expansion of judicial power in states like the UK, capture of previously powerful courts in countries like Hungary, as well as trends such as the increasing scholarly and policy focus on fourth branch institutions such as electoral commiss ..read more

Constitutional Café returns for a second season with an interview on a bold new book. Zaid Al Ali, Senior Programme Officer for International IDEA, joins Adrienne Stone to discuss his book, (2021) that examines the 2011 uprisings that swept across the Arab world in 2011. The conversation ranges widely over the nature of constitutional making, the idea of constitutional revolution and delves into the particular challenges of the Arab region.Arab Constitutionalism: the Coming Revolution See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information ..read more

Constitutional Cafe comes to you from the Centre for Comparative Constitutional Studies at the Melbourne Law School. It is a place for scholarly but informal and fun conversations about constitutions and constitutional law with a global focus. If COVID has kept you from academic travel and you have been missing informal academic conversations, join us. We will bring those conversations to you. For more information, visit www.constitutional-cafe.org See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information ..read more

Why talk about the ‘global south’ in comparative constitutional law? In what ways does it matter and to whom? In this podcast episode Dinesha Samararatne, Senior Research Associate of the Laureate Program explores these and related questions, in conversation with Prof Cheryl Saunders,Laureate Professor Emeritus, Melbourne Law School. For more information on the topics discussed in this episode visit www.constitutional-cafe.org See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information ..read more

This episode of the podcast focuses on an underexplored theme in comparative constitutional law methodology: how languages shape the legal research in the field. The point of departure of the conversation is whether being proficient in a foreign language is required to engage in comparative constitutional law. The four speakers (Rosalind Dixon, Berihun Gebeye, Melissa Crouch and Francesco Palermo) are all established or emerging constitutional law scholars who have extensively worked and researched comparatively. They share their wide expertise and insights on the issue, and suggest that langu ..read more

This podcast explores constitutional law in the understudied world of post-Soviet Eurasia. The discussion between the three guests – who are themselves both scholars and advocates based in three different countries in the region— demonstrates both the diversity of the region and the critical importance of constitutional law in the region for democratic development. The podcast also demonstrates the important theoretical lessons that Eurasia holds for better understanding the relationship between constitutional law and democratic governance. In particular, Eurasia helps us understand the impact ..read more

‘Academic freedom’ is an idea close to the hearts of all constitutional scholars. But what are the constitutional dimensions of the principle? Given recent attacks on academic freedom in democracies as well authoritarian regimes, a better understanding is urgently required. In this episode, we discuss the protection of academic freedom as a principle of constitutional law, its relationship to other constitutional rights and consider what it requires of us as constitutional scholars. We are joined by three distinguished scholars: Ann-Katrin Kaufhold, Renata Uitz and Liora Lazarus. For more inf ..read more

Comparative constitutional law scholars often find themselves working for a period of time, or even their entire career, in a legal system that is different from the one in which they were first educated and with which they are most familiar. Moving jurisdictions presents a range of opportunities, such as the ability to develop a deep familiarity with more than one constitutional system, and challenges, such as the difficulty of adjusting to a new scholarly culture. To discuss this topic, we are joined by Professor James Fowkes, Chair of Foreign and International Law at the University of Munst ..read more