Comparative Constitutional Studies: Latin America

This project seeks to develop an alternative approach to the study of Latin American constitutionalism that departs from the hegemonic epistemological schemes derived from the experiences of the countries of the global north. Its main objective, therefore, is to take seriously the particularities of the Latin American countries in order to develop a theoretical framework, both analytical and critical, that responds to the political and social aspirations of the region, and that can contribute to a more informed global dialogue on the place of constitutional law in the project of construction and consolidation of democratic societies from profoundly different contexts. The emphasis of the research will fall on the critical analysis of the social imaginaries (Taylor: 2004) that permeate the various practices of Latin American constitutionalism. How are the central concepts of constitutional theory understood in Latin America? What do we mean when we speak, for example, of the State, civil society, authority, legitimacy, power, citizenship or democracy? What forms do these concepts take once they are incorporated into the language of Latin American constitutional law? What needs do they respond to? What are the interests pursued by the social actors who invoke or resist them? Is it possible to speak of a Latin American constitutionalism structured from common concepts and practices? The answers to these questions are necessary for the understanding of a region that, like Latin America, has been closely linked to the historical development of modernity, although here it is presented as an alternative modernity that must be studied on its own terms (see Gaonkar : 2001). The objectives of this project will be developed under the methodology of comparative constitutional studies (Hirschl: 2014). This methodology seeks to incorporate the multiple strategies of the social sciences and the humanities to theorize about constitutional law based on a basic premise: it is part of a broader social environment from which it cannot be separated, for which it will be necessary to go to the contributions from disciplines such as philosophy, history, sociology, anthropology, political science, economics, and cultural studies to avoid artificially limiting the questions that are asked and the answers that are offered.