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Copyright of Canadian Journal of Political Science / Revue Canadienne de Science Politique is the property of Cambridge University Press and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Pluralism is a defining feature of European human rights law and of the European constitution. Contestability and conditional deference determine how participating states eventually calibrate their relation to international and supranational authority. This structure gives rise to differences of opinion that reverberate throughout a public sphere that is composed of a growing number of scholars. They increasingly rely on digital media to exchange their ideas. A major role has come to be played by blogs such as the Verfassungsblog. Since its inception, its focus has rested on defending the values of constitutionalism vis-à-vis 'backsliding' Member States. The constitutional culture that results from this is somewhat reminiscent of Germany during the period of the Weimar Republic (1919-1933). While the rise of authoritarianism is a major issue, public law scholarship appears to become increasingly partisan. As European constitutional law emerges against the backdrop of an expanding public sphere, scholarly interventions are drawn into the vortex of politics. Unsurprisingly, scholarship begins to face up to its politicisation by reflecting on its proper task. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In Article 7, paragraph 3, the German Constitution provides that religious education shall be a part of the curriculum of public school. This is one of the three approaches of dealing with religious education existing today. Originally, religious education as a regular subject at public schools in Germany was only offered by the two Christian Churches—Catholic and Protestant. As the number of Christians decreased and the number of Muslims increased, the demand for Islamic religious education at public schools grew. Therefore, the question arose whether the constitutional law concerning religion is capable of facing the new challenges of religious diversity. This Article tries to answer this question with regard to the introduction of Islamic religious education as a measure of adaptiveness. In the first step, the requirements of Article 7, paragraph 3 of the Constitution posed to religious education will be outlined in order to be able to examine in the second step whether Islamic religious education may be introduced at public schools as a regular subject. In this regard, the issue of the qualification of an umbrella association as a religious society and the constitutionality of the advisory board model will be discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents a systematic analysis of the German constitutional foundations of and limitations to European Union (EU) integration. It discusses several barriers to EU integration such as the principle of the rule of law and the principle of federalism. It explores the relationship between EU integration and German democracy and the main types of constitutional constraints.

This essay examines the far-reaching attack on individualism and property rights which characterized the Progressive Era of the early twentieth century. Scholars and political figures associated with Progressivism criticized the individualist values of classical liberalism and rejected the traditional notion of limited government espoused by the framers of the Constitution. They expressed great confidence in regulatory agencies, staffed by experts, to effectuate policy. Progressives paved the way for the later triumph of statist ideology with the New Deal in the 1930s.The essay traces the sources of the Progressive antipathy to individual rights to the influence of Bismarck’s program in Imperial Germany and the Social Gospel theology. It gives attention to the views of leading Progressive intellectuals who stressed the perceived need for increased governmental power and governance by an educated elite. The essay also explores the impact of Progressivism on constitutional law, arguing that the rise of “sociological jurisprudence,” with its skepticism about courts and stress on judicial deference to legislative judgments, served to advance the Progressive political agenda. Progressives looked with disfavor on any constitutional doctrine which curtailed governmental authority. The Progressive movement left a lasting legacy of diminished regard for individualism and a jurisprudence which stripped property of muscular constitutional protection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]