The Authority of Constituent Power

Abstract

This article delves into a specific facet of the widely acknowledged ‘paradox of constitutionalism’. Specifically, it focuses on the tension between the disruptive aspect of constituent power and its alleged authority. Paying special attention to the Chilean social outbreak and the constitutional process that followed, the article draws inspiration from Robert Brandom's recent work to examine a constituent moment in action and argues that the constitutional paradox can be productively addressed if the pragmatic and semantic dimensions of the constituent moment are both distinguished and harmonised. By aligning these two aspects, the article offers a novel version of a ‘relational’ approach to the paradox, revealing the potential for reconciling the disruptive and authoritative elements of a constituent moment, and providing fresh insights into the Chilean case.