CLH ARTICLE: William PARTLETT, Constitutional nationalism and remembered history: the post-Soviet example (Comparative Legal History, XIII (2025), nr. 2 (December), pp. 277-305)

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Abstract:

This article will argue that national history can further the project of constitutional self-government even in formerly authoritarian countries. Examining the former Soviet republics, it will describe how remembering forgotten or suppressed democratic constitutional ideas and arguments from national history can help support the project of constitutional self-government. This form of ‘constitutional nationalism’ counters arguments that constitutional self-government is a project of convergence with western best practices. It instead links it to long-standing national struggles to adapt the balanced constitution of constitutional self-government to the national context. ‘Constitutional nationalism’ therefore relies on a different approach to history. Rather than understanding national history in countries with a long history of authoritarianism as something to ignore or overcome, it views this history as a potential source of (often suppressed) ideas and inspiration for helping the project of constitutional self-government today.

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DOI: 10.1080/2049677X.2025.2579474