Conservation, progress, and change. How time affects politics and democracy
Authors
Valerio Fabbrizi
Adjunct Professor in Political Philosophy and Constitutional Theory, University of Rome Tor Vergata (Macroarea
di Lettere e Filosofia), Department of History, Culture, and Society, Via Columbia 1, 00133 Rome, Italy; University of
Rijeka Center for Advanced Studies Southeast Europe (UNIRI CAS SEE)
Politics, Time, Democratic Constitutionalism, People, Consensus, Timing
Abstract
The article develops a discussion on how time influences the realm of politics and the structure of democraticconstitutionalism. In the first section, a theoretical and political-philosophical of time will be provided; in the second, theattention will be focused on the consequences of time on constitutionalism and democracy. Here, a distinction betweenthe two concepts of time of politics and time of constitutionalism will be addressed. The theory of time in politicalphilosophicalterms can be defined in multiple directions: firstly, in terms of political and constitutional changes, twodifferent matters will be distinguished: a “conservative” as opposed to a “progressive” approach to politics andconstitutionalism. Hence, a twofold definition of constitutionalism can be traced: on the one hand, the idea that aconstitution can be considered as the product of the daily political debate and, on the other hand, the idea of a constitutionas a generational product.
