Details
- Offers an original analytic theory of the nature of the state and its constitution, providing new answers to central puzzles in constitutional theory
- Includes an accessible introduction to the methodology of constitutional theory of value to students approaching the subject for the first time
- Features an extended jurisprudential analysis of the problems of constitutional pluralism, providing an original contribution to the theory of legal systems
The Constitutional Stateprovides an original analytical account of the state and its associated constitutional phenomena. It presents the state as a form of social group, consisting of people, territory and institutions bound together by rules. The institutions of the state make a distinctive and characteristic claim over the people of the state, who, in turn, have a distinctive and characteristic relationship with these institutions. This account reveals the importance of at least two forms of pluralism - legal and constitutional. It also casts light on some of the more difficult questions faced by writers on constitutions - such as the possibility of states undertaking actions and forming intentions, the moral significance of these actions for the people of the state, and the capacity of the state to carry responsibility for acts between generations.
Readership: Academics and students working in constitutional theory, jurisprudence or political theory.
1: The Paths of Constitutional Theory2: Approaching the State3: The Members of the State4: The Constitution of Social Groups5: States and Their Constitutions6: Laws and Conventions7: The Mentality of the State8: The Responsibility of the State9: Legal Pluralism10: Constitutional Pluralism;
Nick Barber, Fellow of Trinity College, Oxford
"The great merit of this book is its sustained focus on the social reality that the state is a group made up of officials and citizens who act jointly." - Richard Ekins, Law Quarterly Review
"Barber engages the most prominent views of the state and public law in a way that is accessible and original. Hence the book will appeal to students as well as to scholars seeking a mid-way between rule-fetishism and apocalyptic scenarios about the end of constitutionalism." - Marinos Diamantides
"Topics are well chosen and usefully inter-related and the book as a whole speaks with a strong and clear voice...Barber's success can be ascribed in part to his care and attention in outlining what he is doing, and why. So, for example, his discussion of method stands out as a useful overview of the current state of constitutional theory, while simultaneously making a strong case for the priority of an interpretive method," - Paul Scott
"By applying the methods and sources of traditional Oxford jurisprudence to constitutional theory, Barber potentially does the discipline a much-needed favour. In the clarity of its aims, its arguments and its conclusions, the book lays down a marker." - Paul Scott, The Edinburgh Law Review
"Barber nails his flag on the mast of interpretive constitutional theory, arguing that it is prior to other approaches. But he recognises that there is a high degree of complementarity between the interpretive, historical, critical and other approaches and is optimistic that the identity crisis can be ended through an acceptance of that complementarity." - The Commonwealth Lawyer
"...a fascinating and thought-provoking argument." - John O'Dowd, Irish Jurist Review
