Kuo, Ming-Sung (2023) (Political) political liberalism and the constitutional project. International Journal of Constitutional Law . ISSN 1474-2659. (In Press)

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Abstract

This essay follows Professors Alessandro Ferrara and Frank Michelman’s dialogic journey into the legitimation-by-constitution idea, which they submit as the institutional expression of political liberalism in Legitimation by Constitution: A Dialogue on Political Liberalism, to illustrate the challenges for contemporary philosophy of political liberalism in its transposition to the constitutional project. It argues that Ferrara and Michelman’s liberal endeavor to answer the fundamental questions surrounding political liberalism rests on a normative conception of identity, which eventually leads them to a dilemma: the project of constitutional democracy is sustained by a liberal ethos, while it is tasked to accommodate those who do not value the liberal form of life. Instead of choosing between the project of constitutional democracy and their liberal soul, Ferrara and Michelman eventually offer a thin constitutional account of political liberalism resembling the international legal order amidst the retrenchment of the liberal ethos. It contends that what liberal democracies need from political liberalism in battling antiliberal forces is not more political philosophy but rather something akin to what Jeremy Waldron calls “political political theory.” It is suggested that political liberalism take a political turn to confront antiliberal forces with an enriched rather than diluted constitutional project.

Item Type:	Journal Article
Subjects:	J Political Science > JC Political theory K Law [Moys] > KB General and Comparative Law
Divisions:	Faculty of Social Sciences > School of Law
Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH):	Legitimacy of governments , Liberalism -- Philosophy, Constitutional law , Democracy
Journal or Publication Title:	International Journal of Constitutional Law
Publisher:	Oxford University Press
ISSN:	1474-2659
Official Date:	2023
Dates:	Date Event 2023 Available 4 January 2023 Accepted
Status:	Peer Reviewed
Publication Status:	In Press
Access rights to Published version:	Restricted or Subscription Access
Date of first compliant deposit:	17 January 2023
Related URLs:	Publisher

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