New Challenges to the Separation of Powers: Dividing Power

This insightful book guides readers through the transformation of, and theoretical challenges posed by, the separation of powers in national contexts. Building on the notion that the traditional tripartite structure of the separation of powers has undergone a significant process of fragmentation and expansion, this book identifies and illustrates the most pressing and intriguing aspects of the separation of powers in contemporary constitutional systems. Chapters explore the social foundations of the doctrine of the separation of powers, its relationship to direct democracy, the role of constitutional courts and the rise of the administrative state. Expert contributors analyse power structures and the separation of powers across new constitutions in central Europe, examining the transformations of political parties and testing the limits of the doctrine alongside a reimagining of the judicial review process. This timely book concludes with a historical perspective on the doctrine and a case study considering a possible new separation of powers in North Africa and the Middle East. This unique book will be of interest to students and academics of comparative constitutional law, as well as constitutional and political theorists, lawyers and judges.

Table of Contents:
Contents: 1 Introduction 1 Vincenzo Zeno-Zencovich PART I THE THEORETICAL CHALLENGES TO THE CLASSICAL SEPARATION OF POWERS DOCTRINE 2 Introduction to Part I 7 Andrea Pin 3 Revitalising the social foundations of the separation of powers? 10 Eoin Carolan 4 Direct democracy and the separation of powers 30 Zoltán Pozsár-Szentmiklósy 5 New challenges to the separation of powers: the role of constitutional courts 45 Luca Pietro Vanoni 6 The rise of conditionality within the global administrative space: a challenge for the separation of powers 77 Antonia Baraggia PART II TRANSFORMATIONS OF THE SEPARATION OF POWERS IN NATIONAL CONTEXT 7 Introduction to Part II 101 Francesco Clementi 8 The separation of powers in new constitutions 104 Francois Venter 9 Unpacking the separation of powers 123 Jiří Baroš, Pavel Dufek and David Kosař 10 The transformation of political parties and the guardians of the Constitution: the evolution of the power structure in the Italian system 143 Stefania Leone and Irene Pellizzone PART III THE SEPARATION OF POWERS UNDER PRESSURE 11 Introduction to Part III 165 Arianna Vedaschi 12 “The symbolic jurisprudence”: Theorizing constitutional (re)capture, testing the limits of separation of powers and reimagining the judicial review 179 Tomasz Tadeusz Koncewicz 13 EU “strict conditionality” from the perspective of the separation of powers 202 Ioannis A. Tassopoulos 14 North Africa and the Middle East after the Arab uprisings: a new separation of powers? 223 Francesco Biagi 15 Conclusion 243 Miryam Iacometti Index 252

About the Author :
Edited by Antonia Baraggia, Assistant Professor of Comparative Public Law, Department of Italian and Supranational Public Law, University of Milan, Cristina Fasone, Assistant Professor of Comparative Public Law, Department of Political Science, LUISS Guido Carli and Luca Pietro Vanoni, Associate Professor of Comparative Law, Department of Italian and Supranational Public Law, University of Milan, Italy

Review :
'In reflecting on the separation of powers, the authors of this diverse collection of essays engage fruitfully with Giovanni Bognetti's basic insight (famously enlivened by the Baron de Montesquieu himself) that the best constitutional theory is sensitive to time and place, and to the ever-changing political, social and economic landscapes of governance.' 'The book is an important, timely and rich contribution to modern constitutional theory on separation of powers. Separation of powers and its contemporary challenges are analyzed in light of the modern political, societal and global context drawing on comparative perspectives. It is a very interesting and dynamic book which provides the reader with a broad picture of the current debates on separation of powers and on how to find the balance between the original fundamental principle on which many democracies are built and the need to redefine its meaning in a modern, global and comparative context.' 'The indefatigable trio of Baraggia, Fasone and Vanoni have once again joined forces to produce an exciting and innovative resource for scholars in public law. This cutting-edge book brings together leading authorities in constitutional studies to diagnose and contextualize the present and future of the separation of powers. The editors have curated a brilliant set of chapters shining comparative, historical and theoretical light on enduring and emerging questions that will now have better answers thanks to this book.'