Moments of deep crisis, not moments of peace and contemplation, give birth to modern democratic constitutions or trigger constitutional change. Such constitutional change in moments of crisis can be ambiguous. On the one hand, it can take an incremental form, allowing the political powers to legitimise the status quo, avoid abrupt, disruptive breaks with past regimes, and »muddle through« until the situation stabilises. On the other hand, moments of crisis allow radical breaks with past constitutional concepts and arrangements, providing space for new fundamental visions about society in response to the societal transformations perceived to be at the root of the crisis. The relationship between these continuities and discontinuities might characterise the origin, life, transformation, and death of a constitution.
La Goethe-Universität, l’Universidad Autònoma de Madrid, l’Instituto de Derechos Humanos di Valencia, l’Università di Ferrara e il Max Planck Institute for European Legal History hanno lanciato una call for papers per un workshop che si terrà a Madrid dal 13 al 15 novembre 2019 sul tema “Weimar moments: constitutionalising mass democracy in Germany, Italy, Spain, and beyond“.
Contributions may take up any of the issues within the scope of the workshop, addressing questions such as: Transition from authoritarian regimes to democracy and the social question in comparative constitutional perspective; Parliamentary democracy and the social question; The relationship between the international openness of a constitution and the social question; Weimar Moments and constitutional law: How do Weimar Moments change the function of the law in society, and how did legal practice adapt? The transformation of Weimar Moments across time and space; The scholarly debate about Weimar Moments then and now; Emigré scholars and the dissemination of Weimar legal and political thought; The constitutionalisation of labour law; Regulation of industrial relations and collective conflicts in Weimar Moments; Comparing the success and failure of different Weimar Moments; The role of European integration and the international order in Weimar moments; The role of law in the constitutional transformation of the European Union: is a Weimar Moment in the history of European integration possible?; The relationship between Weimar Moments and the different manifestations in the European Union member states of protest politics, including liberal authoritarianism, and populism.
Le proposte dovranno essere inviate entro il 1° giugno 2019 all’indirizzo Hinzen@jur.unifrankfurt.de. Le informazioni sull’esito della selezione saranno diramate entro la fine di giugno. La data per la consegna dei paper è fissata al 20 ottobre 2019.