This book emerged from the author’s engagement (the nature of which is
reflected in my publications listed in the Bibliography) with constitutional
comparison. The explosive surge of comparative activity in the
context of public (especially constitutional) law must no doubt be
ascribed, at least partially, to the phenomenon often hazily referred to as
‘globalization’. Markers of globalization such as the mobility of humanity
across borders, hitherto unprecedented in history, have perceptible,
though sometimes opaque, consequences for our understanding of the
contemporary state, its powers, responsibilities and foundations. One of
these consequences is the increasing prevalence of religious pluralism in
the populations of most states of the 21st Century. Another indicator of
globalization is the deepening penetration of constitutional language
emerging from the history of the state in the ‘Western’ world into the
global vernacular. A prominent example of this is the notion of ‘constitutionalism’,
which is widely used as a cipher for a desirable state of
affairs in any country, but whose meaning is vague, at least around its
edges.