Constitutional Moments

Conference series on

Constitutional History: Comparative Perspectives

Champaign, Illinois
March 8-9, 2027

An international conference sponsored by:
University of Illinois College of Law
University of Bologna Department of Legal Studies
Center for Constitutional Studies and Democratic Development (Johns Hopkins
University SAIS Europe – University of Bologna)

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Paper proposals are invited for the Sixth Illinois-Bologna conference on Constitutional
History: Comparative Perspectives. The conference will be held in Champaign,
Illinois, at the College of Law of the University of Illinois on March 8-9, 2027.
The conference keynote speaker will be Manuel José Cepeda Espinosa, former
President of the Constitutional Court of Colombia.

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Accompanying the spread of constitutional government around the world has been a profound interest in the comparative aspects of constitutional law. Scholars have catalogued the differing features of national constitutions and examined how different constitutional systems resolve common legal issues. So, too, judges faced with legal questions have sought guidance in the decisions of constitutional courts of other nations. While comparative constitutional law is therefore a well-established field, less attention has been paid so far to the comparative dimensions of constitutional history. This international conference series aims to address that shortcoming by energizing the study and analysis of constitutional history from comparative perspectives. It provides a forum for presentation and discussion of current research on issues of constitutional history that cross national boundaries. It also brings together scholars who, at present, are working on constitutional histories of single jurisdictions—with the expectation that conversations among these scholars will allow for sharing of methodologies and point also to fresh areas of research that
may transcend national boundaries.

For 2027, the focus of the conference is Constitutional Moments.

According to Bruce Ackerman, constitutional moments are exceptional periods during which constitutional changes occur beyond the formal boundaries of the constitutional text, but are nevertheless driven by a distinctive degree of popular mobilization and democratic engagement. These moments constitute instances of informal constitutional transformation that, although not codified through formal constitutional amendments, acquire special constitutional authority. They represent historical episodes of successful constitutional politics and embody a transformative
expression of popular sovereignty. In examining the historical development of the American Constitution, Ackerman identifies four instances of “higher lawmaking”: the Founding, the Reconstruction, the New Deal, and the Civil Rights Revolution.

Although the theory is grounded in the distinctive historical experience of American constitutionalism, Ackerman’s conception of constitutional moments has attracted considerable attention also from comparative constitutional scholars worldwide. These scholars have sought to determine whether comparable constitutional
moments can be identified in other legal systems and to examine how such developments correspond to, or differ from, the American experience. This comparative inquiry will constitute the central focus of the conference.

Constitutional moments invite numerous questions that can benefit from comparative analysis. How can we identify a genuine constitutional moment? How
might the criteria vary across jurisdictions? What is the role of the judiciary (and particularly of supreme and constitutional courts) when constitutional moments are occuring and, later, when it comes to recognizing them, defining their scope, and giving them legal force? What is the relationship, if any, between constitutional moments and democratic backsliding? Are constitutional moments to be embraced as expressions of the sovereign will or feared as the product of misguided populism? What do experiences in different nations tell us about the circumstances in which constitutional moments arise and about their endurance as transformations to the legal order? Is there a history of failed constitutional moments that informs our understanding of constitutional law and politics? Are constitutional moments rare events without any discernable pattern or might they be contagious—with each one trigger others within and across jurisdictions? How can the theory of constitutional moments be applied to supranational organizations (consider for example the failed ratification of the Constitutional Treaty of the European Union)?

We invite papers that consider these and related questions about constitutional moments and that can serve as the basis for a discussion among scholars interested in exploring these episodes of informal constitutional change from a comparative perspective. Papers that focus on a single jurisdiction—and even a single case—are welcome as are papers that examine constitutional moments from multiple jurisdictions.

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Scholars interested in presenting a paper at the conference should first e-mail a title and summary of the proposed paper along with a CV to Professor Jason Mazzone at mazzonej[@]illinois.edu. There is no word limit for the proposals but proposals in the range of 500-1,000 words are typical. Proposals received by October 20, 2026, will receive priority. After that date, submitted proposals will be considered if space remains. For those whose abstracts are accepted, draft papers will be required for circulation to other participants three weeks prior to the conference. Subject to the usual requirements of peer review, papers from the conference will be published as a single volume by Brill. Authors who accept an invitation to present a paper at the conference must agree to have the paper included in the published volume. Additional information about length and formatting requirements for the final versions of the papers will be provided to authors. Conference participants are responsible for their own travel and accommodation expense.