Constitutional Democracy

János Kis

Published by Central European University Press 2003

Constitutional Democracy

János Kis

https://doi.org/10.1515/9786155053887

Overview
Contents

About this book

Constitutional democracy addresses the widely held belief that liberal democracy embodies an uneasy compromise of incompatible values: those of liberal rights on the one hand, and democratic equality on the other. Liberalism is said to compromise democracy, while democracy is said to endanger the values of liberalism. It is these theses that János Kis examines and tries to refute. Making the assumption that the alleged conflict is to be resolved at the level of institutions, he outlines a new theory of constitutional democracy. A wide range of problems encountered in constitutional democracy are discussed, such as the popular vote, popular sovereignty, and non-elected justices. The volume is composed of three parts. Part One, "Public Good and Civic Virtue", revisits the debate between liberals and democrats on how to interpret the democratic vote. In Part Two, "Liberal Democracy", the author proves that on the level of principles there is no incompatibility between liberalism and democracy and that liberal theory can demonstrate that democratic values follow from fundamental liberal values. In Part Three, "Constitutional Adjudication in a Democracy", the compatibility of democracy and judicial or constitutional review is analyzed and a theory of constitutionalism is outlined. This volume appeals to scholars in political philosophy, political science, and constitutional law, but is also recommended to all those interested in liberal and democratic theory, and the transition to democracy in Central and Eastern Europe.

Author / Editor information

Kis János :

János Kis is professor of political science and of philosophy at the Central European University, and Senior Research Fellow at the CEU Democracy Institute.

Reviews

"It is a wide-ranging, largely philosophical, enquiry ... it holds useful lessons for politicians and constitutional lawyers beyond the borders of Hungary."

"This book deserves a wide audience among political theorists and scholars of constitutional law. Highly recommended."

Topics

Frontmatter Publicly Available Download PDF	i
Table of Contents Publicly Available Download PDF	v
Introduction Publicly Available Download PDF	ix
NOTES Publicly Available Download PDF	xv
THE COMMON GOOD AND CIVIC VIRTUE
1. Liberalism and republicanism Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	1
2. The preference-aggregating model Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	9
3. The ethical model: the responsible voter Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	11
4. The ethical model: the relation between private and communal preferences Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	17
5. The ethical model: public debate and voting Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	21
6. On the relation of the two models Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	25
7. Liberalism and the descriptive claims of the ethical model Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	29
8. Virtue in politics Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	35
9. The politics of virtue and personal autonomy Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	39
10. Concluding remarks Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	43
LIBERAL DEMOCRACY – AGAINST THE COMPROMISE THESIS
1. Introduction Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	51
2. The conflict Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	57
3. Constitutional constraints, constitutional review Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	61
4. Political equality and rule by the majority Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	65
5. Equality of votes and equality of voters Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	71
6. Contractarian theory: the selection of voting rules Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	75
7. A weakness of contractarian theory Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	81
8. The typology of preferences Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	85
9. Filtering the preferences of the contracting parties Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	91
10. Moral discussion before the contract Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	97
11. The mandate of the guardians of the constitution Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	103
12. Summary and restrictions Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	109
CONSTITUTIONAL REVIEW
1. Introduction Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	117
2. Interpreting the constitution Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	133
3. Striking down legislation Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	183
THE LEGACY OF THE FIRST HUNGARIAN CONSTITUTIONAL COURT
1. The interpretive practice of the Constitutional Court Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	247
2. Summary and a glance to the future Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	303
Index Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	321

Language: English
Publisher: Central European University Press
Audience: Professional and scholarly;
Pages
- Main content: 342
Keywords: Human rights; Late 20th century; Political philosophy; Regime change; Transition; Values

eBook

Published: February 10, 2003
ISBN: 9786155053887