An essay on rule-of-law culture and constitutional resilience

This essay argues that rule-of-law culture could be an avenue of research to address the issue of constitutional resilience of liberal democratic regimes, i.e. the capacity of liberal constitution to resist the passage of time and to remain legitimate in the eyes of the citizenry. Firstly, I use Rawls’ definition of originating and joining consent and Easton’s work on diffuse and specific support to explain how constitutions must activate specific mechanisms of support to resist the passage of time. I believe that rule-of-law culture could be a central mechanism. Secondly, I provide an account for a conceptualisation of rule-of-law culture. I identify three dimensions: between citizens, between institutions and between citizens and institutions. I then subdivide rule-of-law-culture in three components: constitutional consciousness, rule-of-law consciousness, and rights consciousness. Thirdly, I explain how direct experience and socialisation can contribute to the strengthening of rule-of-law culture.

Keywords: rule-of-law culture; constitutional resilience; political support; legitimacy of constitutions