Democracy has declined to an historic low since the first annual Democracy Index almost twenty years ago. Today every single region of the world fares worse than in 2006 on democratic inputs and outcomes. From Asia to Africa to the Americas and everywhere in between, countries are performing poorly on civil liberties, political participation, governance, political culture, and elections. As of 2023, less than 8% of the world's population lives in a full democracy while 40% lives under authoritarian rule.
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How can academics help strengthen democracy in this era of global democratic decline? We can wield our pen to diagnose what ails democracy. We can blend academia with activism, joining forces with political actors to advance and defend constitutional democracy. We can also run for office, as many academics have done, some with more success than others. Perhaps the clearest path is to become a judge and work from within.
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I urge us all to consider how each of us can help reverse the troubling trend of democratic decline in the world. Wherever we stand on the political spectrum, surely we can all agree that the peoples of the world are entitled to free and fair elections, the rights to assembly, belief and expression, and the freedom to dissent peaceably without fear of reprisal.
Richard Albert
Save the Date
The next Global Summit on Constitutionalism will be held on March 20-22, 2025 here at the University of Texas at Austin. Our 2023 edition welcomed 200+ participants from 40+ countries. Our next edition will be even bigger. We look forward to hosting you here in Austin and showcasing your ideas on constitutions. Save the date, and plan to join us.
Constitutional Amendments in Ireland
Next month, Ireland will hold referendums on two constitutional amendment proposals. One proposal would expand the concept of “family.” The other would delete the Constitution's reference to women in the home and add new text recognizing family care. The UCD Centre for Constitutional Studies has produced a useful guide to the referendum.
On My Bookshelf
I am now reading this book on free speech – a right the author calls “the most human right,” the title of his book. Without free speech, the author argues, no other right is secure. It is a powerfully persuasive argument.
3rd Graduate Conference on Constitutional Change
Registration is now open for the 3rd Graduate Conference on Constitutional Change at the University of Texas at Austin, to be held on December 9-11, 2024. Graduate students of all levels are welcome. More details here. Applicants will be notified on a rolling basis.
A Recommendation for Black History Month
February is Black History Month. In honor of this occasion, I recommend 13th, an award-winning documentary made available for free on YouTube. The documentary examines the history of race in the American criminal justice system. The title of the documentary refers to the 13th Amendment, which abolished slavery in the United States.
An Antidote to Corruption
Corruption has eviscerated public trust in Ecuador. The executive, legislature, courts, police, and the military – many officials in each have been compromised. Ecuador has a steep hill to climb: how to fix a problem that has penetrated the state, and continues to spread? Pablo Alarcón Peña suggests where to start: by promoting civic education in the culture of legality. His essay is making waves in legal circles and civil society, and it could well hold the key to rescue Ecuador from its culture of corruption.
The Best Series in Public Law
The Constitutional Systems of the World is the very best series of books in public law. Published by Hart, the series offers excellent introductions to constitutions around the world. Each of the books is accessible to beginners and interesting to experts. The series includes single-country books on Australia, Brazil, Canada, Israel, and beyond, as well as multi-jurisdictional books on Central Asia, the Commonwealth Caribbean, and more. The next book in the series, to be published in April 2024, will focus on South Korea.
Judicial Elections in Mexico?
“Only the people can save the people,” exclaimed President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador in his Constitution Day speech earlier this month. He took the occasion to propose reforms to the Constitution of Mexico. The most controversial one would require direct elections for Justices of the Supreme Court. Watch his speech in full, below.
Last month, the Supreme Court of Israel (pictured above) ruled that the legislature does not have unlimited power to enact and amend basic laws, and moreover that the Court has the authority to review their constitutionality. I am pleased that my paper on The Difficulty of Constitutional Amendment in Canada, 53 Alberta Law Review 85 (2015), was cited in the Court's decision, which is available here in its original Hebrew.
*** The Court's judgment was spurred by a constitutional challenge to an amendment that would prohibit judicial review on grounds of reasonableness. For helpful background, I recommend this useful primer.
Democracy and Constitutionalism in the Americas
We will co-host a virtual course on challenges to democracy and constitutionalism in the Americas. Enrollment is free to all. The course will consist of high-level lectures and discussions held online twice monthly, beginning next month in March until December 2024. Each session will last two hours, focus on a specific jurisdiction, and feature two faculty speakers. Countries under study include Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Mexico, Venezuela, the United States, and many more. Seats are limited. To register, email Jorge Madrazo at madrazojorge@yahoo.com. This course is co-sponsored by the UNAM School of Law, UNAM San Antonio, UNAM PAME, the Instituto Iberoamericano de Derecho Constitucional, and the International Forum on the Future of Constitutionalism.
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.
