The Constitutional State

"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