James Wilson Doctoral Programme Research Themes
Students interested in working in the Wilson Programme must do research that is related to the concept of constitutionalism broadly defined. Students should also be undertaking their study of constitutionalism through an engagement with the history of that idea as it stretches back from the ancient through medieval to the modern and even post-modern world. Projects can focus on both comparative constitutional studies, either across different national, regional, or even historical contexts. Students can also be working on global or international constitutional studies, assuming these works address some historical context.
Students who have completed the programme or are currently engaged in it have explored the following themes:
- The role of Cicero in the political thought of James Wilson
- The idea of faction and party in the thought of Montesquieu, Hume and Burke
- The concept of Islamic constitutionalism, particularly in the thought of Khyar al-Din
- The idea of the Islamic Caliphate in global order
- The rule of law, and limits of legality in constitutional responses to terrorism
Potential topics for exploration include, although are not limited to:
- The relevance of Ancient Greek and Roman thought for constitutional theory
- The rule of law in the international order
- The relevance of American constitutional thought for global political order
- The nature of the judiciary in international institutional order
- The nature of Middle East constitutionalism, either Islamic or secular
- The idea of the mixed constitution in history and current constitutional orders