The spread of state-centered constitutions and constitutionalism as a dominant branch of public law and a lingua franca of contemporary politics and policymaking is arguably one of the most significant developments in late twentieth and early twenty-first century governance. Yet, as we head into an age defined by planetary challenges, the current crisis of constitutional democracy provides a unique opportunity to reflect on the constitutional project. Drawing on an extensive interdisciplinary and comparative inquiry, this book highlights the stark disconnect between constitutionalism's statist foundations and the existential, planetary challenges we face as humanity: mass global migration, climate change, unequal access to essential natural resources, and radical technological transformation governed by unruly multinational corporations. Ran Hirschl's expert analysis exposes the questionable suitability of the dominant form of constitutionalism, and of contemporary state-based public law more generally, to lead us effectively into the planetary epoch.

‘The world is facing unprecedented challenges of a truly global scale. Our current constitutional models are also demonstrably failing to deliver responses to these challenges. The reasons, Ran Hirschl argues, are many but they ultimately lie in the nature of the constitutional project itself: a project that is ultimately too statist, short-term, and insular in focus to be fit for purpose in the current age. In this field-redefining work, Hirschl therefore calls on us to rethink the very idea of constitutions and constitutionalism — and instead to embrace radically new ways of structuring public power and decision-making across and within national boundaries. None of us can afford to ignore this call to action — let alone from one of the intellectual founders of the field.’

Rosalind Dixon - Professor of Law, University of New South Wales

‘Ran Hirschl deploys his expertise to show how prevailing conceptions of constitutionalism around the world largely inhibit rather than advance efforts to confront a range of major challenges. Bold, provocative, and supported by an extraordinary breadth of knowledge, ‘Constitutionalism 2050’ illuminates and sets an agenda for confronting many of the most important challenges facing the human species today.’

Rogers M. Smith - Christopher H. Browne Distinguished Emeritus Professor of Political Science, University of Pennsylvania

‘Ran Hirschl is a true giant in the field of comparative constitutional law. Yet this latest book from a notably prolific and illuminating author calls for blowing up the field as it now exists. It is, he argues, almost literally fatally mired in the acceptance of a Westphalian emphasis on individualized nation-states (there are now 193 in the United Nations!) and thus blinds us to the need to move beyond the nation-state (and individual constitutions) in order to confront such ‘planetary challenges’ as climate change and international migrations, to name only two. This is not only ‘his’ most important book; it is also ‘the’ most important book on constitutionalism written in this century. It demands the widest possible readership, discussion, and, most importantly, a concomitant change in consciousness and willingness to act across traditional boundaries.’

Sanford Levinson - Centennial Chair, University of Texas Law School, and author of Framed: America’s 51 Constitutions and the Crisis of Governance

‘Hirschl brilliantly conveys what he terms a ‘crisis of scale’ in continued reliance on ‘statist constitutionalism’ – that is, public law closely tied to individual states – to address transnational problems posing ‘existential threats to global wellbeing’. The ‘geography of constitutionalism,’ he argues, results in failures to address major contemporary challenges – of climate change, global migration, unjustifiable inequalities, powerful multinational corporations, and new technologies (especially in artificial intelligence). This book is learned and dazzling, a ‘must-read’ for all concerned with the future of public law and its capacity to prevent ‘apocalyptic failures’ in addressing major environmental, social, economic, and political challenges.’

Vicki C. Jackson - Laurence H. Tribe Professor of Constitutional Law, Harvard Law School

‘As the ‘Leviathan’ provided the seminal foundations for the constitutional state, so ‘Constitutionalism 2050’ provides the seminal foundations for a global constitutional order. Ran Hirschl matches and exceeds Thomas Hobbes's ambition, brilliance, and erudition in a work, destined for the same place in the political pantheon, that demonstrates the national state Hobbes celebrated is becoming as anachronistic as the little principalities and baronies Hobbes deplored as obstacles to human flourishing.’

Mark Graber - Regents Professor, University of Maryland