Constituent power in a “community of equals”

Abstract

In this article, I use an ideal example related to what I call “a community of equals” to explore the difficult problems involved in the idea of constituent power. After presenting my version of this “egalitarian community,” I discuss some theoretical controversies that have emerged around the same matter, focusing on the work of Bruce Ackerman, Joel Colón-Ríos, Yaniv Roznai, and more particularly, Andrew Arato. I argue that discussions about constituent power should neither remain confined within the old paradigm of “sovereign constitution-making,” nor become exclusively studied under the alternative paradigm of “post-sovereign constitutionmaking.” Constitutionalism needs to recover its democratic character if it wants to keep its egalitarian promise intact.

Ustavodajna oblast v »skupnosti enakovrednih«. Izhajajoč iz idealnega primera, povezanega z »skupnostjo enakovrednih«, avtor v tem besedilu razišče probleme, povezane z idejo ustavodajne oblasti. Najprej predstavi svojo različico te »egalitarne skupnosti«, nato pa razpravlja o nekaterih teoretičnih polemikah, ki so se razvile okoli problema ustavodajne oblasti. Pri tem se osredotoči na dela Brucea Ackermana, Joela Colón-Ríosa, Yaniva Roznaija ter še posebej Andrewa Arata. Trdi, da razprave o ustavodajni oblasti ne bi smele ostati ujete v staro paradigmo »suverenega ustavotvorja«, prav tako pa ne smejo postati izključno del alternativne paradigme »post-suverenega ustavotvorja«. Namesto tega avtor zatrjuje, da mora ustavništvo ponovno najti svoj demokratični značaj, če naj obdrži obljubo egalitarnosti.