The recurring theme of current constitutional debates occurring in various places throughout the world is the shape of relations between the normative framework created and sustained by constitution on the one hand, and social values, norms and processes on another. The intricate interplay between these two levels is a subject of key relevance, provoking questions about their transformations, conflicts, and dialogue between them. Such reflexive interplays and mutual co-dependencies are particularly striking in times of immense social transformation, shifts, and crises.  

This workshop will critically explore constitutional regimes in their social contexts, analysing interactions between constitutional and social normativities. For that sake, we interpret the notion of normativity broadly, as including a wide variety of phenomena of a normative kind: rules of institutional practices, cultural values and beliefs, group identities, criteria for rationality, and others. We are interested in how these different types of normativity emerge, evolve and shape constitutional and social practices – and, above all, how they interplay with each other.   Constitutional normative frameworks are regularly challenged and subject to transformation (metamorphosis) by diverse social processes. We invite papers that analyse the impact of such challenges as globalisation, the rise of populism and autocratism, political polarisation, military conflicts, the emergence of global risks (pandemic, climate change) etc. on constitutional principles and practices. At the same time, constitutions may reflexively transform the abovementioned processes, subjecting them to constitutional standards of human rights, the rule of law and others. They may also either support or hinder the processes of self-constitutionalisation emerging in various social subsystems. Hence, the workshop will explore both the adaptability and the transformative power of constitutional normative frameworks towards the plethora of these diverse social dynamics. 

The situation of conflict between constitutional regimes and societal expectations is nothing exceptional. The contributions to the workshop may expound the nature of such conflicts. They may also analyse feasible means – of legal and/or political kind – to handle conflicts (what does not necessarily mean their resolution). Of particular interest here are various instances of constitutional crises emerging in different regions of the world. Such crises can be interpreted as a situation of depletion of a pre-existing scheme of relations between constitutional and social normativities, on institutional, cultural and/or ideational levels. For these reasons, constitutional crises offer a unique opportunity to observe how both types of normativities re-negotiate their positions and mutual relationships.   Finally, dialogue is not only the necessary approach to overcoming constitutional and political crises. It is also a countermeasure to a systemic tendency (drift) of constitutional frameworks to isolate themselves from social contexts, and the avenue for building robust and well-grounded constitutional regimes. The question remains, though, what are the necessary and sufficient conditions for such a dialogue? Consequently, the workshop will investigate different constitutional models against how they foster or frustrate the dialogue between constitutional and societal normativities.

We invite both theoretical and empirical contributions from the fields of public and legal philosophy, sociology, history and other research disciplines that delve into the abovementioned or related topics. All theoretical perspectives that consider social dimensions of constitutional orders are accepted. This includes but is not limited to, societal constitutionalism, political and civic constitutionalism, reflexive theory of constitution, constitutional pluralism, deliberative democracy, and others.   Submissions, with the author(s) name, affiliation, and short abstract (ca. 300 words) should be sent by April 15th, 2024, to the addresses maciej.pichlak@uwr.edu.pl and p.skuczynski@wpia.uw.edu.pl. Decisions will be sent on a rolling basis, but no later than April 22nd, 2024. 

 Convenors: 
Maciej Pichlak is a professor of legal theory and philosophy of law at the University of Wrocław, Faculty of Law, Administration, and Economics. Visiting scholar at the University of Edinburgh, University of Helsinki, and the International Institute for the Sociology of Law in Oñati. He was the Secretary General of the Polish section of the International Association for Philosophy of Law and Social Philosophy IVR for the term 

2018-2022. Research fellow in the project ‘PRACTIS: Power, Reflexivity And ConsTitutional crisIS’. His research interests focus on law’s reflexivity, constitutionalism, and risk regulation via law. 

Paweł Skuczyński, Ph.D. is an assistant professor at the University of Warsaw, Faculty of Law and Administration. Since 2007 he is also the president of the Polish Legal Ethics Institute`s foundation and chief editor of the series Library of Legal Ethics. He is the Deputy General Editor of the Polish edition of the journal Archives for Legal Philosophy and Social Philosophy edited by the Polish section of the International Association for Philosophy of Law and Social Philosophy IVR. Visiting Scholar at the University of Melbourne and the National University of Singapore. He is interested in legal theory and philosophy, judicial and legal ethics, and societal self-regulation.