Constitutional Cafe

Centre for Comparative Constitutional Studies
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Scholarly but fun conversations about constitutions brought to you by the Centre for Comparative Constitutional Studies at Melbourne Law School.

  1. MAR 24

    Why the Russian Constitution Matters: A Conversation with William Partlett about the Russian Constitution and the Constitutional Dark Arts

    In this episode, Adrienne Stone sits down with her Constitutional Café co-host and Director the Centre for Comparative Constitutional Studies, William Partlett to discuss his new book Why the Russian Constitutional Matters: The Constitutional Dark Arts (2024).   The book argues that the roots Putin’s vast power lie in the nature of the constitutional transition of the early 1990s, which created a powerful Presidency to ensure a democratic transition and to protect the long list of rights guaranteed in the Constitution.  But though effective at the time, Will traces how this Constitution has since allowed Putin to consolidate personal control over Russian politics.     William Partlett is an Associate Professor at Melbourne Law School.  A specialist in Russian history, he holds degrees in Russian History as well as a law degree from Stanford University and is a Russian speaker. Professor Partlett’s research takes a historical and comparative approach to questions of public law.    Recommended reading:  Why the Russian Constitution Matters: The Constitutional Dark Arts, William Partlett  Latin American Constitutionalism, 1810–2010. The Engine Room of the Constitution, Roberto Gargarella  Technopopulism: The New Logic of Democratic Politics, Christopher J. Bickerton, Carlo Invernizzi Accetti  The Penguin History of Modern Russia, Robert Service  Constitutional Cafe is a podcast of the Centre for Comparative Constitutional Studies at Melbourne Law School, University of Melbourne. You can find out more about the work of the Centre here.  We acknowledge the Wurundjeri Woi Wurrung peoples of the Kulin Nation as the Traditional Owners of the land on which we record, learn, and live.

    27 min

  2. MAR 10

    Democracy, Elections and Polarisation: How a long-forgotten Australian can help us save democracy

    In this episode, Constitutional Café co- host Adrienne Stone talks with Professor Edward Foley, a recent distinguished visitor at Melbourne Law about democracy, polarisation and electoral systems. Professor Foley is interested in how voting systems might help depolarize the intense partisan competition that is experienced in the United States. In a recent lecture delivered in Melbourne he shone new light on the work of Australian mathematician who in the late 19th and early 20th Century pioneered “ranked choice” or “preferential” voting, which has been in place in Australia for decades and forms part of Australia’s unique voting system.   Edward B. Foley holds the Ebersold Chair in Constitutional Law at The Ohio State University, where he directs also its election law program, and is widely recognized as one of the United States’ foremost experts on election law.    Recommended reading:  On Democracy, Robert A. Dahl  Grant, Ron Chernow  Constitutional Cafe is a podcast of the Centre for Comparative Constitutional Studies at Melbourne Law School, University of Melbourne. You can find out more about the work of the Centre here.  We acknowledge the Wurundjeri Woi Wurrung peoples of the Kulin Nation as the Traditional Owners of the land on which we record, learn, and live.

    25 min
  3. Democratic Constitutional Reform in Chile: Looking Back and Forward

    09/28/2022

    Democratic Constitutional Reform in Chile: Looking Back and Forward

    Chile recently saw the defeat at a national referendum of a proposed new democratic constitution. What should we make of this result, and what does it mean for the future of democratic constitutional reform in Chile and globally? Did Chilean constitution-makers try to achieve too much, too fast? Was the vote the product of opposition disinformation, or popular misunderstanding? Or was the defeat a product of deeper forces pushing against the chances of successful democratic constitutional transformation? In this podcast, Rosalind Dixon explores these questions with an expert Chilean and comparative constitutional panel, including Professor Veronica Undagarra, Javier Cuoso and David Landau. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

    51 min
  4. Arab Constitutionalism: An Interview with Zaid Al Ali

    04/10/2022

    Arab Constitutionalism: An Interview with Zaid Al Ali

    Constitutional Café returns for a second season with an interview on a bold new book. Zaid Al Ali, Senior Programme Officer for International IDEA, joins Adrienne Stone to discuss his book, (2021) that examines the 2011 uprisings that swept across the Arab world in 2011. The conversation ranges widely over the nature of constitutional making, the idea of constitutional revolution and delves into the particular challenges of the Arab region.Arab Constitutionalism: the Coming Revolution See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

    36 min
  5. Inside Putin's Crackdown on Russia's Oldest Constitutional Rights Group

    04/10/2022

    Inside Putin's Crackdown on Russia's Oldest Constitutional Rights Group

    Associate Professor William Partlett speaks with Marina Agaltsova about her work at Memorial Human Rights Centre in Moscow and why that organisation is now facing liquidation. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

    40 min
  6. Landmark judgments, constitutional revolutions and comparative constitutional law

    04/10/2022

    Landmark judgments, constitutional revolutions and comparative constitutional law

    The conceptualisation of landmark judgment and constitutional revolution is a topic that is new and to a certain extent quite original. While broadly used by scholars, lawmakers and the judiciary, until recently these two concepts have never received adequate theorisation in comparative constitutional law. In this episode, our guests, Eleonora Bottini and Yaniv Roznai, share their insights on their recent work in this area, from how they got interested in the subject, to the points of connection between the two concepts, including the challenges they have encountered when engaging in such definitional endeavour. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

    41 min
  7. Post-Juristocracy - the End of Powerful Courts?

    04/10/2022

    Post-Juristocracy - the End of Powerful Courts?

    This podcast discusses the notion of ‘post-juristocracy’ – whether we're seeing the end of the broad global shift toward more powerful courts worldwide, which has been an ongoing trend for the almost 80 years post-World War II. These developments include the declining legitimacy of apex courts in states like the USA and India, preventive actions against the expansion of judicial power in states like the UK, capture of previously powerful courts in countries like Hungary, as well as trends such as the increasing scholarly and policy focus on fourth branch institutions such as electoral commissions and the 'deliberative wave' that mark a shift in focus on rights protection and achieving constitutional change from courts to bodies like citizens’ assemblies. While it’s not a monolithic phenomenon, these disparate but interacting political and scholarly trends raise a host of questions for constitutional lawyers about comparative methodology, constitutional design, and constitutional resilience. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

    49 min
  8. Season 2 Trailer

    04/04/2022

    Season 2 Trailer

    Constitutional Cafe comes to you from the Centre for Comparative Constitutional Studies at the Melbourne Law School. It is a place for scholarly but informal and fun conversations about constitutions and constitutional law with a global focus. If COVID has kept you from academic travel and you have been missing informal academic conversations, join us. We will bring those conversations to you. For more information, visit www.constitutional-cafe.org See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

    2 min
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About

Scholarly but fun conversations about constitutions brought to you by the Centre for Comparative Constitutional Studies at Melbourne Law School.

Information

  • Creator
    Centre for Comparative Constitutional Studies
  • Years Active
    2021 - 2026
  • Episodes
    14
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Centre for Comparative Constitutional Studies
  • Show Website
    Constitutional Cafe

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