Breda, Vito (2019) Constitutional patriotism. In: Handbook of patriotism. Springer Nature, Cham, Switzerland. ISBN 978-3-319-30534-9
Abstract
This essay discusses constitutional patriotism and its possible implications in highly diversified societies. Constitutional patriotism is a theory of deliberative democracy that provides a normative justification for modern constitutional systems. In particular, constitutional patriotism suggests a rational explanation for the sense of alliance that individuals normally have toward their own constitutions without allocating such an alliance on the ever-present sense of belonging to a national community. The unpinning assumptions of constitutional patriotism are drawn from Kantian epistemology. In this essay, I will argue that constitutional patriotism as an explicative political theory must include a substantive protection of communal identities.
The practice of discussing political issues provides a mechanism for individuals who might profoundly disagree with the present and past results of such interaction to internalize the legitimacy of decisions taken by public institutions. This is the so-called normative spillover or normative surplus effect of constitutional patriotism. From this perspective, constitutional patriotism is one of most persuasive justifications for a democratic constitutional system that includes a large group of individuals who perceive others as strangers and yet are partakers of the ideals manifested in their constitutional document. However, I will argue that cultural diversity, which yields a plurality of political claims over what the common good might be, requires a substantive protection, analogous to the one that most liberal societies grant to religious communities and minority groups.
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Item Type: | Book Chapter (Commonwealth Reporting Category B) |
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Refereed: | Yes |
Item Status: | Live Archive |
Additional Information: | Permanent restricted access to Published version, in accordance with the copyright policy of the publisher. |
Faculty/School / Institute/Centre: | Current - Faculty of Business, Education, Law and Arts - School of Law and Justice (1 Jul 2013 -) |
Faculty/School / Institute/Centre: | Current - Faculty of Business, Education, Law and Arts - School of Law and Justice (1 Jul 2013 -) |
Date Deposited: | 02 Aug 2019 00:21 |
Last Modified: | 05 Feb 2020 00:18 |
Uncontrolled Keywords: | constitutional patriotism, Habermas, highly diversified societies, consociative democracies |
Fields of Research (2008): | 18 Law and Legal Studies > 1801 Law > 180108 Constitutional Law 18 Law and Legal Studies > 1899 Other Law and Legal Studies > 189999 Law and Legal Studies not elsewhere classified 16 Studies in Human Society > 1608 Sociology > 160803 Race and Ethnic Relations 18 Law and Legal Studies > 1801 Law > 180106 Comparative Law 22 Philosophy and Religious Studies > 2202 History and Philosophy of Specific Fields > 220204 History and Philosophy of Law and Justice |
Socio-Economic Objectives (2008): | C Society > 94 Law, Politics and Community Services > 9404 Justice and the Law > 940499 Justice and the Law not elsewhere classified C Society > 95 Cultural Understanding > 9504 Religion and Ethics > 950404 Religion and Society |
Identification Number or DOI: | https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-30534-9_5-1 |
URI: | http://eprints.usq.edu.au/id/eprint/36853 |
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