Beyond the Republic: Meeting the Global Challenges to Constitutionalism

What challenges do Australian constitutional law, theory and practice each face now that globalisation - the unimpeded movement of people, money, information and ideas across national boundaries - is eroding the sovereignty of nation-states? Other writers have studied globalisation, but as a political, economic, social or environmental rather than a constitutional phenomenon. Works on Australian constitutionalism tend to assume that the centuries-old tradition of national sovereignty will continue. This book systematically discusses both topics in tandem, and analyses how each affects the other. Three key themes are reflected in the three parts in the book: Whither National Sovereignty, Constitutional Structures, and Individual and Minority Rights. The first discusses the decline of the "external" power of national governments relative to international organisations and NGOs. The second focusses on the declining "internal" power of national governments relative to legislatures, in particular Upper Houses, and to sub-national governments. The third charts the declining power of national governments relative to the citizens and minority communities they govern. These themes and the way they are elaborated in the book are explained in the Introduction. See Chapter Extracts, on this page.