Defining the Field of Comparative Constitutional Law

Jackson, Tushnet, and their contributors, distinguished jurists and legal scholars from around the world, seek to define the field of constitutional law, sometimes expressly but more often by illustrating the way in which each writer thinks about comparative constitutional law. Viewed as a whole, the collection points to common constitutional themes even though how nations responded to these issues differed substantially based on different histories, traditions, and experiences.

Three common themes emerge from the essays. First discussed are the relationships of constitutionalism and constitutional law to popular understandings and political contexts and their relationship to constitutional understandings and transformations. A second set of concerns revolve around dilemmas of equality. Third, explicit or implicit in virtually all of the essays is the theme that globalization as a phenomenon requires comparative constitutional study. Here is a thoughtful and stimulating collection that will be of value to legal scholars, students, and others involved with constitutional law issues.