Unpacking constitutional literacy

De Visser, M ORCID: 0000-0003-4676-7138 and Jones, BC ORCID: 0000-0003-2344-976X (2024) Unpacking constitutional literacy Global Constitutionalism, 13 (1). pp. 29-52. ISSN 2045-3817, 2045-3825

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Abstract

The contemporary crisis in relation to constitutional literacy relates not to the lack of knowledge that citizens possess about fundamental constitutional texts, but to the considerable lack of development in relation to what constitutional literacy itself entails. This article accordingly unpacks the notion of constitutional literacy: its importance, its characteristics, and its variable nature. Using a comparative lens, the article invites reflection on the role we expect citizens to play in our democracies, and especially the associated knowledge and skills required for successful state performance. We suggest that constitutional literacy is exceptionally multifaceted and fluid in nature, which serves to make its conceptualization and measurement challenging endeavours, and certainly more so than the easy invocation of this notion may assume at first blush. In this regard, engaging with the constitutional text, while an integral component of constitutional literacy, is ultimately only one part of the puzzle.

Item Type:	Article
Additional Information:	Source info: (Forthcoming) Global Constitutionalism
Uncontrolled Keywords:	civic education, constitutional literacy, legal knowledge, political knowledge, text-centrism
Divisions:	Faculty of Humanities & Social Sciences > School of Law and Social Justice
Depositing User:	Symplectic Admin
Date Deposited:	27 Jul 2023 13:19
Last Modified:	24 Jan 2026 04:30
DOI:	10.1017/S2045381723000205
Related Websites:	Publisher
URI:	https://livrepository.liverpool.ac.uk/id/eprint/3171947
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