Challenges to the Idea of a Constitutional Polity
Challenges to the Idea of a Constitutional Polity

Summary/Abstract: This essay defends the claim that democracy—the rule of the people—is only possible by means ofa constitution. In John Searle’s analytical approach, democracy is based upon the distinction between regulativeand constitutive rules; the latter create institutional realities which increase the capacity of human societies tomobilize their resources most effectively for a good social and political order. A case in point is the concept ofthe “will of the people,” which populist movements in several liberal democracies have been invoking as the trulyauthentic source of democratic rule. The author raises the question of whether modern-day dictatorships can bebased upon the idea of democracy.

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