The hidden constitutions of contemporary societies

In this chapter I approach the labyrinth of contemporary constitutionalism by another path; from the perspective of the struggles to gain recognition of diverse cultures over the last four centuries. In the course of these intercultural encounters, contemporary constitutionalism has been shaped in various aspects to recognise and accommodate cultural diversity. Specifically, the three conventions of the common language of constitutionalism arose in these contests. Of course, modern constitutionalism continues to reign in its imperial splendour, but the aspects I will now sketch are not simply minor disturbances on the frontier of modern constitutionalism, destined to disappear as it progresses. They only appear that way from its perspective. That is ‘the thing about progress’, Nestroy discerned over a century ago, ‘it appears much greater than it actually is’.

The recognition and accommodation of cultural diversity in the broader language of contemporary constitutionalism discloses what might be called the ‘hidden constitutions of contemporary societies’. They are hidden by the rule of modern constitutionalism and the narrow range of uses of its central terms. As contemporary societies begin to enter a postimperial age, a vast undergrowth of cultural diversity and its partial recognition in constitutions has begun to come to light as the shadow of the imperial epoch begins to recede. This discovery flies in the face of the seven features of modern constitutionalism: diversity is not a thing of the past, it does not conform to the stages view of historical development and modern constitutionalism did not trickle down unchanged from the European centre to the non-European periphery.