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AbstractIn contrast with the decline of liberal constitutionalism around the world, liberal constitutionalism seems to be resilient in Taiwan. Weaving together several threads of history, law and politics, this article first argues that foreign legal education and identity concerns explain why judicial review and constitutional development more broadly in Taiwan have not only flourished but mirrored both German and American constitutional jurisprudence. Second, it maintains that the case of Taiwan poses another challenge to the concept of global constitutionalism since the number of referenced jurisdictions is quite limited.

Abstract:The explosion in the literature on global constitutionalism in recent times has come at the cost of ever more, and more diverse, definitions of the concept of constitutionalism. The state of the current debate can therefore be characterised, conceptually speaking, as a 'constitutional cacophony'. This cacophony is the inevitable result of the 'problems of translation' in importing the state-based concept of constitutionalism to the global level. This article attempts to counter suprastate constitutional scepticism borne of these problems of translation and resulting cacophony by revisiting the concept of constitutionalism itself through the lens of legitimacy. Arguing that legitimacy provides both a key element of the concept of constitutionalism as well as a common denominator for the application of constitutionalism both at the state and suprastate levels, it develops a conception of 'constitutionalism as legitimacy' as a way of vindicating the role of constitutionalism in the context of global governance. It presents constitutionalism as a discursive 'mixed' form of legitimacy entailing both factual and normative components involving a blend of liberalism and republicanism. These theories are then reworked into a framework of reasons for the legitimacy of an authority centring around its origins, its aims and its methods. Tracing the relationship between constitutionalism and legitimacy in this way brings harmony to the global constitutional cacophony and allows for a plausible 'translation' of the concept of constitutionalism between the state and suprastate levels allowing for an effective 'mapping' and 'shaping' of legitimacy in global governance which is illustrated by reference to the legitimacy crisis surrounding the United Nations Security Council's 'war on terror'.

In the following contributions, authors investigate interconnected aspects of the problem of democratic deficit in global constitutionalism. The commonly shared question is: to what extent, if any, a global (or cosmopolitan) shift of international law can proceed absent a transnational democratic check? Not all scholars are convinced that this is an actual problem. Many think, instead, that a 'division of labor' is to be recognized between national and regional/international legal levels. It is a common conviction for authors present hereafter, that detachment of international law production from constituent will, as well as from a democratic framework, does indeed undermine constitutional legitimacy. Furthermore, it opens to forms of domination that affect also state's democratic institutions from within. What is the way out from this deadlock? How is it possible to tame global constitutionalism in order to avoid a global Leviathan? The collection of essays here presented attempts to conceptualize some of the central challenges affecting contemporary patterns of legal dispersion and fragmentation. There unfolds a coherent thread which, starting from a modern Kantian understanding of the problem, it moves to the discussion of issues of constitutional pluralism, institutional legitimacy and the risk of tyranny. It follows the analysis of the role of China and the EU, two of the most important actors, even though perhaps at the opposite pole of the global constitutional project.

Abstract:This introduction sets the stage for the special issue on the 'ideologies of global constitutionalism'. It describes the competing approaches for conceptualising and analysing global constitutionalism. It then turns to highlight the overlooked ideologies underlying global constitutionalism through a thematic exposition of the articles in the special issue. In particular, the introduction questions the conventional link between global constitutionalism and neo-liberalism, explores a materialist analysis of global constitutionalism, analyses the validity of the liberal global constitutionalist paradigm for non-liberal regimes, and discusses the potential for the abuse of that liberal paradigm through the migration of constitutional doctrine.

AbstractThis special issue of Global Constitutionalism discusses how global constitutionalism influences Asia-Pacific jurisdictions and how they respond. This introductory article presents the theme and structure of this issue, explains the Asia-Pacific's unique contribution to global constitutionalism and offers a synthetic argument. It conceptualizes global constitutionalism as the global diffusion of common constitutional ideas, institutions and doctrines rooted in comparative constitutional law and public international law. On that base, it argues that constitutional design, adjudication and discourse in many Asia-Pacific jurisdictions are influenced by global constitutionalism. The influence results in not only convergence but also resistance to global constitutionalism in the regions. The regional experience presents critical challenges for global constitutionalism, and hence its effective operation significantly depends on its situation within the region's axiological, institutional and social contexts.

Abstract:There is a difference between the normative reasons for endorsing global constitutionalism and the conditions determining its emergence. This article addresses the latter issue. Specifically, the article claims that global constitutionalism rests on an underexploredshift in constitutional imagination. To account for this claim, the article is structured in several parts. It begins by clarifying the meaning of 'constitutional imagination'. In so doing it builds on Kant's concept of imagination ('Einbildungskraft') and in its reception by Hannah Arendt. The article then illustrates the significance of constitutional imagination by focusing on two major developments in constitutional thinking. The first development involves the shift away from a narrative reconstruction of constitutional authority; the second points to acosmopolitanisationof constitutional imagination.

AbstractThis article argues that this special section reveals a practical global constitutionalism, or one that integrates a liberal constitutional set of ideas with the histories and practices of Asian states.