Interdisciplinary approach in comparative constitutional research

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Author: Alexandra Troitskaya

DOI: 10.21128/1812-7126-2017-5-57-77

Keywords: история права; междисциплинарный подход; методология конституционно-правового исследования; политология; социология права; сравнительный метод; экономический анализ права

Abstract

The comparative method in the field of constitutional law enjoys deserved success. However, at the same time it raises a number of important methodological questions. One of these questions is connected to the boundaries of comparative constitutional research, as determined by a more or less careful treatment of the involvement of theoretical constructions and research practices utilized by other disciplines. At least in the Russian scientific community there is a rather wide range of positions on this issue, ranging from the recognition of all genuinely scientific knowledge as interdisciplinary in nature, to the desire to limit oneself within the framework of legal disciplines, and to the study of strictly legal phenomena. It is between these “extremes” that the middle positions can be found that allow for interdisciplinary approaches, albeit with some prudence. On the basis of a comparison of the corresponding positions found in this article, considerations will be presented regarding the admissibility and desirability of the interdisciplinary approach in general, as well as the specific benefits that various disciplines, including the sociology of law, history of law, political science, and the economic analysis of law, can bring to comparative constitutional law in particular. The possibility and effectiveness of involving additional “visual angles” will be demonstrated using examples from various constitutional institutions. The conclusions reached in this article can be relevant to the constitutional law of any state taken separately, but are especially important for the field of comparative law, which involves working with several legal systems operating in different cultural contexts.

About the author: Alexandra Troitskaya – Candidate of Sciences (Ph.D.) in Law, Associate Professor, Faculty of Law, Lomonosov Moscow State University, Moscow, Russia.

Citation: Troitskaya A. (2017) Mezhdistsiplinarnost’ v sravnitel’nom konstitutsionno-pravovom issledovanii [Interdisciplinary approach in comparative constitutional research]. Sravnitel’noe konstitutsionnoe obozrenie, no.5, pp.57–77. (In Russian).

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