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Understanding Law as a Democratic Institution Through US Constitutional Development

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  27 December 2018

Julie Novkov
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Abstract

This essay reviews Howard Gillman, Mark Graber, and Keith Whittington, American Constitutionalism: Volume I: Structures of Government (New York: Oxford University Press, 2012), and Howard Gillman, Mark Graber, and Keith Whittington, American Constitutionalism: Volume II: Rights and Liberties (New York: Oxford University Press, 2012). It defends developmental approaches in the study of US constitutional law. It explains how law has been studied in political science, illustrating how political development became part of the story. It outlines how American political development approaches work when applied to law, noting how studying law transforms these approaches. It notes the insights produced through the blending of American political development and constitutional law, explaining how these insights provide more leverage for understanding the role of courts as democratic institutions. The essay closes by discussing the promising directions these approaches suggest, defending their value beyond political science.

Type
Review Essay
Information
Law & Social Inquiry , Volume 40 , Issue 3 , Summer 2015 , pp. 811 - 832
Copyright
Copyright © American Bar Foundation, 2015 

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