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Sovereignty, Civic Participation, and Constitutional Law: The People Versus the Nation in Belgium

Sovereignty, Civic Participation, and Constitutional Law: The People Versus the Nation in Belgium

Hardcover

Series: Routledge Research in Constitutional Law

General European HistoryGeneral Law

Currently unavailable to order

ISBN10: 0367483599
ISBN13: 9780367483593
Publisher: Routledge
Published: Apr 13 2021
Pages: 304
Language: English

This book brings recent insights about sovereignty and citizen participation in the Belgian Constitution to scholars in the fields of law, philosophy, history, and politics.

Throughout the Western world, there are increasing calls for greater citizen participation. Referendums, citizen councils, and other forms of direct democracy are considered necessary antidotes to a growing hostility towards traditional party politics. This book focuses on the Belgian debate, where the introduction of participatory politics has stalled because of an ambiguity in the Constitution. Scholars and judges generally claim that the Belgian Constitution gives ultimate power to the nation, which can only speak through representation in parliament. In light of this, direct democracy would be an unconstitutional power grab by the current generation of citizens. This book critically investigates this received interpretation of the Constitution and, by reaching back to the debates among Belgium's 1831 founding fathers, concludes that it is untenable. The spirit, if not the text, of the Belgian Constitution allows for more popular participation than present-day jurisprudence admits.

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