Democracy, the Courts, and the Liberal State

David Miles is a former Carnegie Scholar and teaches international relations at the University of St Andrews. His academic and research interests include comparative politics, political theory, American and German constitutional history, US foreign policy, international relations, and identity. He is Editor-in-Chief of Global Politics Magazine.

"Clearly written, assiduously researched, and never fantastical, Democracy, the Courts and the Liberal State is a delight-filled primer for how to overhaul our thinking about constitutionalism to uphold liberal democratic values for the twenty-first century. If David Miles can imagine and explain taking democracy seriously, then surely we can conceive of the serious institutions to build it!"Malik R Dahlan, Professor of International Law and Public Policy at Queen Mary University of London"Electoral processes are a crucial yet curiously neglected feature of any constitutional system. Not only legal theorists but also constitutional courts often have had overly simple, not to say simplistic, views of how these processes might best operate so as to secure and support core liberal democratic principles. David Miles’ excellent book breaks new ground in tackling this issue head on. In particular, he provides a critical and comparative examination of the core decisions on matters of electoral process of the US Supreme Court and the German Federal Constitutional Court. His analysis highlights both the importance of courts in fostering a flourishing liberal democracy, and the strengths and weaknesses of current judicial reasoning in the United States and Germany in this area."Richard Bellamy, Professor of Political Science, UCL

• Introduction 1. Taking Democracy Seriously 2. Mediating the Values of the Civic Space 3. People of Different Views 4. A Changing Concept of Equality 5. The Democracy Training Programme 6. Karlsruhe and the People Conclusion