Year: 2015
Type: dissertation
Abstract: How does democracy get off the ground? Is it possible to begin democratically where there is no democracy before? What is the significance of founding moments, if any, for the project of constitutional democracy? This dissertation explores the problem of founding from the standpoint of its relation to democratic theory. The central claim is that a democratic constitution is not only supposed to set up the institutions of self-government, but it is also supposed to be made, as much as possible, democratically. In other words, how the constitution is made is as significant as what it prescribes. I offer two arguments in support of this claim. The first one is a normative argument about the meaning of popular sovereignty. Under contemporary conditions of diversity and pluralism, constitutional claims of popular sovereignty would have little purchase unless they have a strong foothold in what citizens themselves have to say in their own voices on the form and principles of their own political organization. Secondly, I also draw attention to the role of founding moments in setting the course of democratic politics over time. In this register, the basic idea is that how we begin (or begin anew) makes a difference in our future prospects. The effects of founding as a crucial historical experience are woven --both for better and for worse-- into the very fabric of the political community, lingering in its institutions, practices and identity.
Source: TSpace (University of Toronto)
Author: Ali Serdar Tekin
Language: English
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W2612568767