15 May 2017
Abusive comparativism: “Pseudo-comparativist” political discourse as a means to legitimizing constitutional change in Turkey
The constitutional amendment process has arguably weakened Turkey’s already-fragile constitutionalist system. This is well known. What is less known and pretty much overlooked is that comparativism and specifically comparative constitutionalism has suffered at the hands of Turkish political elites during the legal and political discussions that preceded the referendum. Continue reading >>
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31 January 2017
New Constitutional Amendment Proposal in Turkey: A Threat to Pluralistic Democracy!
Turkey will hold a referendum on a fundamental constitutional reform, probably in April. The designed political regime is neither parliamentarism nor presidentialism. Although the government calls the new political regime as a “Turkish type of presidentialism” with a populist discourse; in reality, the new regime will bring a kind of “delegative democracy”, which is seen usually in the South American, sub-Saharan African and in central Asian countries. Continue reading >>
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15 May 2016
Das RECHT geht vom VOLK aus
Der FPÖ-Kandidat für das Amt des Bundespräsidenten wirbt auf seinen Plakaten mit einem Zitat aus der österreichischen Verfassung: "Das Recht geht vom Volk aus". Was hat es mit diesem Satz auf sich? Nicht das, was die FPÖ impliziert – und doch erinnert er uns post-nationale Liberale daran, dass unser fortschrittsoptimistischer Moralismus Mitverantwortung trägt, wenn FPÖ-Kandidat Hofer am nächsten Sonntag die Wahl gewinnt. Continue reading >>27 November 2015
A New Revolution? The Recent Governmental Crisis in Romania
As of November 2015, Romania faces its most important social, political and constitutional crisis in the last quarter-century. If the 1989 Revolution signified a break with a totalitarian communist regime, the widespread street protests of 2015, which led to the fall of the Government, gave a new message: global dissatisfaction towards the whole political class and institutions marked by serious inefficiency and corruption. The Government's resignation led to an important constitutional crisis: one year before general elections, the country needed a new Government, but there was no clear political majority in Parliament to form one. In these circumstances, the President of Romania, Klaus Iohannis, has tried a new approach, calling on social movements and appointing a non-political "techocratic" government. Time will tell if the decisions taken were right for Romanian democracy. Continue reading >>
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