Show Notes
On Sunday, December 17, Chilean voters are required to vote to accept or reject a proposed new constitution for Chile. Sunday's referendum will shape democracy in Chile for the foreseeable future: can a constitution that served Pinochet's military dictatorship work for democracy? After Chilean voters rejected a progressive constitution in September 2022, will they embrace the right-leaning one now? Democracy's Future is joined by Professor Veronica Undurraga, who was the President of an ideologically balanced Expert Commission that drafted the constitution, which was then redrafted by an elected Constitutional Council dominated by the Right.
More from Democracy's Future?
Aziz Rana, author of the much-anticipated book, The Constitutional Bind, joins Julie and Zephyr to talk about the origins and history of constitutional veneration, and why this constitutional creed threatens the future of our democracy.
Are social media companies newspapers in the eyes of the Supreme Court? Should government be allowed to treat them like public utilities? What role does social media play in our current democratic crises, and what role should the First Amendment play in our legislative responses to those crises? This episode is a fascinating conversation that features the expertise of Democracy's Future co-host Zephyr Teachout, who has been a leading commentator on this issue, with our guest Sandeep Vaheesan, antimonopoly expert and legal director at the Open Markets Institute to discuss Netchoice v. Paxton and Moody v. Netchoice, two high stakes cases that the Supreme Court is expected to decide very soon.
On International Women's Day (March 8), Irish voters will decide whether to amend their constitution to delete a provision that recognizes women's "life within the home." Adopted in 1937, the "woman in the home" clause has been criticized for entrenching traditional gender stereotypes. Will voters choose to replace it with a gender-neutral clause that values care within the family instead? And what difference does the constitution's language about women, care, and families make to law and public policy? Professor Laura Cahillane joins Democracy's Future from Ireland to discuss.
The Supreme Court’s decision in Dobbs ended the constitutional right to abortion in the United States, but it triggered a serious push to enshrine abortion as a constitutional right in France. Next week, the French Senate will debate and vote on a constitutional amendment that would recognize the woman’s freedom to choose abortion. With an overwhelming majority of the National Assembly already in favor of it, France could be the first country in the world to enshrine an abortion right in its constitution this year. Will the amendment, if passed, actually strengthen access to abortion in France? And is the proposal igniting a new polarization that undermines the future of constitutional abortion rights, in France and around the world? Professor Stéphanie Hennette-Vauchez takes a break from testifying and advising lawmakers on the amendment to joinJulie and Zephyr on Democracy’s Future to discuss.
When should a political candidate deemed a threat to democracy be disqualified from running for office? As the Supreme Court takes up the constitutional questions that could end Trump's bid for the Presidency, Democracy's Future hosts a conversation with Tom Ginsburg and David Landau, scholarly experts on the law of disqualification in democracies around the world.