Description:
Reformulating a problem both of constitutionalism and of liberalism often discussed in the works of Alexis de Tocqueville, Hannah Arendt, and Ernst-Wolfgang Böckenförde, Miles argues that constitutionalism cannot be seen merely as a mechanism to limit government, as it also has a crucial civic dimension which the liberal state depends on.
Review Quotes:
"Clearly written, assiduously researched, and never fantastical, Democracy, the Courts and the Liberal State is a delight-filled primer for how to overhaul our thinking about constitutionalism to uphold liberal democratic values for the twenty-first century. If David Miles can imagine and explain taking democracy seriously, then surely we can conceive of the serious institutions to build it!"
Malik R Dahlan, Professor of International Law and Public Policy at Queen Mary University of London
"Electoral processes are a crucial yet curiously neglected feature of any constitutional system. Not only legal theorists but also constitutional courts often have had overly simple, not to say simplistic, views of how these processes might best operate so as to secure and support core liberal democratic principles. David Miles' excellent book breaks new ground in tackling this issue head on. In particular, he provides a critical and comparative examination of the core decisions on matters of electoral process of the US Supreme Court and the German Federal Constitutional Court. His analysis highlights both the importance of courts in fostering a flourishing liberal democracy, and the strengths and weaknesses of current judicial reasoning in the United States and Germany in this area."
Richard Bellamy, Professor of Political Science, UCL