The Democratic Case for Judicial Review
A Participatory interpretation of the internal relation between the Rule of Law and Democracy
Lecture by Prof. Cristina Lafont (Harold H. and Virginia Anderson Professor of Philosophy, Northwestern University)
Commentators Prof. Richard Bellamy (Professor of Political Science, University College London) and Dr. Sofie Møller (Postdoctoral Fellow at the Research Centre Normative Orders of Goethe University) within the Lecture Series on “Rule of Law and Democracy” on April 9th 2021 at the Research Centre Normative Orders of Goethe University.
The crisis of democracy we face today triggers many questions about the very concept of democracy as well as its interaction with other political ideals.
Some of those who embody this crisis claim to speak in the name of the people and contradict, at the same time, the most basic democratic institutions of Constitutional states. That pushes us to look at one highly contested issue, which is the relation between democracy and the rule of law ideal. Are they based on contradictory principles, and united, paradoxically, in Constitutional Democracies – as Habermas has pointed it out? Are they completely independent one from another – as some other scholars believe? Does it make sense to talk about a democratic rule of law ideal?
The Lecture Series on Rule of Law and Democracy attempts to address this issue from a multidisciplinary perspective. History, Philosophy of Law and Political Philosophy are here brought together to enrich and shed different lights on this old debate that revives once again.
Organized by Dr. María Emilia Barreyro (Postdoctoral Fellow at Normative Orders), Dr. Sofie Møller (Postdoctoral Fellow at Normative Orders) and Carlos Gálvez-Bermúdez (PhD student at Normative Orders)
News from the research center
The Cambridge History of Latin American Law in Global Perspective
Duve, Thomas; Herzog, Tamar (eds.): The Cambridge History of Latin American Law in Global Perspective, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2024 (portugiesisch 2025; spanisch 2026).
more information ›Rechtsgeschichte des frühneuzeitlichen Hispanoamerika
Duve, Thomas; Egío, José Luis (2023): Rechtsgeschichte des frühneuzeitlichen Hispanoamerika, Berlin: De Gruyter, 2023.
more information ›Das Prinzip Donald Trump und die Verrohung der Welt
Ein neuer Politikstil macht international Karriere. Er ist gekennzeichnet von Vulgarität, Verrohung und erklärter Rechtsfeindschaft. Machtinteressen werden nicht mehr juristisch bemäntelt. Stattdessen wird das angebliche Recht des Stärkeren zur Staatsdoktrin gemacht – innenpolitisch wie außenpolitisch. Treibende Kraft hinter dieser Verrohung der politischen Sitten ist ein US-Präsident, der nicht nur die amerikanische Gesellschaft und Kultur, sondern auch die globale Ordnung nach seinen Vorstellungen und Interessen umgestaltet. Die Römerberggespräche wollen diesen Politikstil verstehen.
more information ›Democracy Over Time and the Climate Crisis
Vortrag von Anja Karnein (Binghamton). Die Vortragsreihe untersucht Fragen der Klimakrise als Herausforderungen für demokratische Gesellschaften und konzentriert sich auf Themen wie politische Legitimität, Widerstand gegen fossile Brennstoffe und die Interessen künftiger Generationen. Sie wird organisiert von Prof. Dr. Darrel Moellendorf und Dr. Lukas Sparenborg.
more information ›Capital Investment, Inequality, and State Power in a Time of Climate Emergency
The lecture series examines questions of the climate crisis as challenges for democratic
societies and focuses on issues of political legitimacy, fossil fuel resistance, and the interests
of future generations.
Failed States and Cloudy skies: Tipping Points, Overshoot and Permanent Emergency, after America
The lecture series examines questions of the climate crisis as challenges for democratic
societies and focuses on issues of political legitimacy, fossil fuel resistance, and the interests
of future generations.
Political Legitimacy, Authoritarianism, and Climate Change
Lecture by Ross Mittiga (SOAS London). The lecture series examines questions of the climate crisis as challenges for democratic societies and focuses on issues of political legitimacy, fossil fuel resistance, and the interests of future generations. It is organized by Prof. Dr. Darrel Moellendorf and Dr. Lukas Sparenborg.
more information ›