Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin - Prof. Dr. Philipp Dann

Research

Fields of Interest

  • Comparative Constitutional Law, comparative law of federal democracies and theory of comparison, constitutional law of India, varieties of constitutionalism
  • Law and Development, in particular Law and Governance of development cooperation and the institutional law of development agencies  
  • Public international law, in particular from a North-South-perspective; international institutional law, law of global governance, history and theory of international law   
  • European Constitutional Law, in particular the institutional law and democracy in the EU
  • Law in context and interdisciplinary approaches to law 

Current Research Projects 

Research cluster "Variations of constitutionalism" 

This cluster integrates several research projects that investigate challenges and alternatives to liberal constitutionalism in North-South comparison. Economic crises, increasing inequalities, the rise of illiberal powers and the resurgence of populism and nationalism fuel contestations of liberal constitutionalism around the globe. At the same time, alternative models of constitutional government are gaining increasing attention: Transformative constitutionalism has emerged as a distinctive constitutional type especially in the Global South. Authoritarian and illiberal constitutions experience a renaissance across the North-South divide. Against this background, the projects contribute to the pluralization of comparative constitutional law and to a global typology of constitutional government. To this end, they establish and deepen long-term collaborations with leading research institutions in the Global South, especially in India and Brazil. 

The projects in this research cluser include: "Varieties of Constitutionalism: Contestation of Liberalism in Comparative Constitutional Law", "Legal cultures in India and Europe", "'Transformative Constitutionalism' and the Borderlines of Liberalism" and "'Transformative Constitutionalism and the Varieties of Constitutionalism' - Indo-European Workshops Series".