April 5, 2021

From the Director's Desk

Last month I invited you to join me in making a charitable contribution to help send kids in Haiti to school. My hope was that at least 40 of you would each donate $10, for a total of $400. Would you believe that we raised over $5000?! The entire amount will go directly to school enrollment fees and supplies for needy children in Haiti. Thank you for your generosity. 

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Join us this week for the Massey Cities Summit, a major conference on “Constitutional Space for Cities” bringing together thinkers and doers to tackle a key problem: how can we give cities the powers they need to deliver the services we need from them? This event is convened by Nathalie Des Rosiers, Alexandra Flynn, Alan Kasperski and me, with the collaboration of Selena Zhang, Jamie Basian, Darren Chow, and with support from the Canadian Urban Institute, the Maytree Foundation, and the Social Sciences & Humanities Research Council of Canada.

Richard Albert

Just Published!

This book by Linda Colley is on my shortlist for 2021 book of the year. Perhaps the best historical account of codified constitutions, teeming with evocative illustrations rooted in rich political and social context, “The Gun, the Ship, and the Pen” teaches us a lot that we do not yet know about constitutions and presses us to rethink much of what we think we already know about them.

Writing Rights

Are written constitutional rights irrelevant? Countries with many written constitutional rights are often authoritarian states. And countries with fewer written constitutional rights are often democracies.

Spotlight on Early-Career Scholars: Part XXI

Let me introduce you to five early-career scholars. Please get to know them, read their drafts, and invite them to join your conferences.

Thank You, Texas!

My deepest gratitude to the State of Texas and the University of Texas at Austin for making the vaccine available to all adults in the state.

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Richard Albert

Founder and Director

The mission of the International Forum on the Future of Constitutionalism is to marshal knowledge and experience to build a world of opportunity, liberty, and dignity for all.