My book is finally out open access,dealing w arguments from failure, i.e. when institutions act in legally problematic ways because others have failed to do their job. It is comparative & should be interesting (I hope), even if it doesn't hold all the answers. www.cambridge.org/se/universit...

Cas Mudde spells out what has become largely the consensus among researchers: moving right on immigration will not weaken the far right nor strengthen social democracy. If your reaction is "but in Denmark" please at least familiarize yourself with Danish politics www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

Selection committees: please send us a copy of your PhD certificate Also selection committees:

This as not simply populism, it's an extreme assault on public institutions and structures. The last week has been about the BBC, but comes alongside mounting attacks on judicial independence/the European Court of Human Rights. Treating each issue in isolation will see them killed off one by one.

Four (!) three-year postdoc positions available at @au.dk: international.au.dk/about/profil... Join an incredible team & help understand the psychological & political implications of the clash between high-speed society & slow-speed democracy. Please share! @tboeggild.bsky.social can help with Qs

Hurricane Melissa has done catastrophic damage to Western Jamaica. We are used to hurricanes, but this is the worst hurricane on record that has ever hit the island. There has been devastation to infrastructure and housing. If you are able to, please donate to relief efforts: supportjamaica.gov.jm

In memory of Conor Gearty, Public Law's 2007 symposium on his Hamlyn Lectures, "Can Human Rights Survive?" is available to read here: www.sweetandmaxwell.co.uk/content/dam/...

Thanks for the “recommended” tag, Larry! Excited to share my job-market paper, which uses the recent religious charter school case to show how faith-based entities secure public funds while sidestepping constitutional limits—a phenomenon I term “private disestablishment.”

Thanks for highlighting, Larry! This chapter argues that education law has privileged parental choice & religious freedom while sidelining equality. I argue for re-centering education as a right that secures both liberty & equality—the foundation of democratic citizenship.

"The sabotaging of what normally is a consensual procedure is a test-run for prying away ever more members of the center-right from what remains of Angela Merkel’s legacy through US-style culture war."

The next Public Law Conference will be held at University of Cape Town, 1-4 July 2026. The theme is Public Law and the Future of Constitutional Democracy. 2026 marks the 30 year anniversary since the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996. More details coming soon.

1/3 Academic freedom is becoming an increasingly pressing issue worldwide, challenged in diverse political and legal contexts. Here are some recent resources : Special issue on academic freedom, edited by Kriszta Kovács and Janika Spannagel: www.cambridge.org/core/journal...

Publication day! 💫 Our Verfassungsbook “Indian Constitutionalism at Crossroads: 2014-2024”, edited by ANMOL JAIN (@anmoljain-law.bsky.social) and TANJA HERKLOTZ (@tanjaherklotz.bsky.social) is now available in print and online! 📚 Check it out now! verfassungsblog.de/books/

Populism remains an important necessary concept to understand current political transformations. But analysts need to move away from it as the main focus. Authoritarian nativism, white supremacy, racism, sexism and fascism are the ideologies at the core of the current erosion of liberal democracy 1/

Holding out for the day when I can afford to buy back all the articles I’ve published

I’d strongly prefer being called a (potentially) “lucky loser” than being on the reserve list…

Beauty of the English language: "in sync" is so much crisper and more elegant than Gleichschaltung.

Remember those - partially very silly - changes that Meta announced to its content moderation policies in January? The @oversightboard.bsky.social has pushed back gently but it may also have adapted its own approach to better suit Meta's new stance...

Why the new Hungarian Transparency Bill is an attack on the foundations of the European Union: RENÁTA UITZ on the notorious transparency bill, why constitutional democracy in Hungary is under threat — and what the European Union should do now. verfassungsblog.de/hungary-tran...

This is an under-appreciated point in much of the thinking about democratic backsliding - much of society continues as "normal" and many not actively participating in the cruelty will even benefit in some way. www.theatlantic.com/magazine/arc...

What if a TikTok ban says more about empire than about safety? MARIE LAUR (marielaur.bsky.social) uncovers how the French TikTok ban in New Caledonia exposed colonial legacies at the heart of digital censorship and emergency powers. verfassungsblog.de/the-tiktok-b...

I have yet to read this carefully but I'm surprised the Meta Oversight Board allowed the display of the apartheid era South African flag. It's considered hate speech in SA and very few people would display if not to support apartheid. www.oversightboard.com/decision/bun...

1/7 Can the executive ‘safeguard’ the constitution? The UK Constitution Committee says yes, but I worry. The plural UK executive means this is unlikely. And if we want internal executive checks like the civil service to work, we need to strengthen them now. Trump 2.0 is a warning.

🚨NEW ARTICLE 🚨 with Adam Peresman, @honoratam.bsky.social & @thoruplars.bsky.social We show that those often seen as most critical of research - populists! - have relatively *high* trust in scientists across 🇺🇸 🇬🇧 🇨🇿 🇩🇰 & are willing to follow their advice: journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/... 🧵(1/4)

A good explainer of the constitutional theory side of Trump

Call for papers! @katyhayward.bsky.social, @anuragdeb.bsky.social, Ewan Smith and I are organising a conference on parity of esteem as a constitutional principle at QUB on 9-10 April. We've a few slots for presenters left, so still time to submit an abstract! www.qub.ac.uk/Research/GRI...

Along with Stuart Macdonald and @drkatyvaughan.bsky.social, I am compiling a new Concise Encyclopaedia of Terrorism Law, to be published by @elgarpublishing.bsky.social. We already have a fantastic line up of contributors, but now we are looking for more!

The one where Ben figures out Parliament's pronouns.

Great piece by @jonhenley.bsky.social. I get to outline the vicious cycle of far right support. As mainstream parties move right on immigration, voters adjust their positions to the right, far-right support increases, mainstream parties move more to the right... www.theguardian.com/world/2025/f...

Absolutely appalling…

On Friday, the US Supreme Court granted cert on an Oklahoma case about religious charter schools. In this post @lpeblog.bsky.social, I sketch the law & politics of the future of public education & the place of religion in our public life. A thread on the arguments 🧵 lpeproject.org/blog/america...

Excellent NYT interview with the outgoing U.S. ambassador to Hungary. This is a key insight!

I can think of worse ways to start the year than finding out that my work has been cited by the SA Constitutional Court…

My initial thoughts on the legal challenge to the Trudeau prorogation, now in blog form on @verfassungsblog.de.

However "crazy" we may find Elon Musk's recent behavior, part of what makes it dangerous is that he is *not* perceived as a "crazy far-right person". He has a reputational shield, built outside of politics, which makes him very well placed to influence voters who are not diehard extremists. 1/4

For all the big talk, Meta have subsequently clarified that there will be no changes to its EU systems for the time being. I think this is a signal that Zuckerberg will aim to preserve company value by complying with local law, leaving the fines, loss of revenue, reputational damage, etc. to Musk.

🚨In Nature🚨 Meta is dropping fact-checking to avoid anti-conservative bias- but is there actually evidence of bias? We this test empirically & find that conservatives * ARE suspended more * BUT share more misinfo So suspension isn't necessarily evidence of bias www.nature.com/articles/s41...

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A good read for those interested in how the constitution is under attack in Finland…

⚡LAUNCH - RESISTING THREATS TO DEMOCRACY The word on everyone's mind is 'resistance'. How can institutions, politicians, civil society and citizens push back against wannabe authoritarians? Check out our new focus area on Demoptimism. www.demoptimism.org/resisting-th... #democracy #resistance

If the AI says I’m a grandmother, then I guess I’m a grandmother.

I am hiring a post-doc fellow to work with me on my new ESRC, T-AP project, "Open Constitutional Democracy", w/ @odileammann.bsky.social & Michael Pal. It is a 2-year, full-time post, starting around 1 Apr 2025. Deadline to apply is 15 Dec 2024. Please share! warwick-careers.tal.net/vx/lang-en-G...

Intentional or not, imagining parallels with the non-fictional DA made for a fun thought experiment.

Still trying to add to this - if you have any colleagues who you might want to add, tag them!

Great interview on the Hungarian LGBTQI case before the CJEU

Starter packs are the authoritative reference works handbooks wish they were.

Building a comparative constitutional law starter pack - let me know if you’d like to be added! go.bsky.app/LQqBn6D

Here’s law.

Great to see some brilliant comparative constitutional law people arriving. Welcome @democracytalk.bsky.social @taniagroppi.bsky.social @vanessamacdonnell.bsky.social @marktushnet.bsky.social @efieldingd.bsky.social @tomginsburg.bsky.social Still finding my way around here …