Total constitutionalism in different contexts under scrutiny Introduction to the Special Section

This Special Section sets forth the thesis that European constitutionalism is evolving towards what many call ‘total constitutionalism’. This evolution is driven by civil society’s demand for government services, elite special interests, economic globalisation, and judicial activism. The process is far advanced, with courts rendering judgments across a wide range of political and policy domains, to the point now of substituting themselves for legislatures and even constitutional conventions, with far-reaching implications for majoritarian democracy. Yet, little critique of this trend can be found in the academic literature. This Special Section begins to address this gap with critical analyses undertaken from an eclectic spectrum of contextual perspectives by our contributors: Martin Loughlin, Alexander Somek, Anna-Bettina Kaiser, Gaëtan Cliquennois and Simon Chaptel, and Graziella Romeo.