JSI Seminar: American nullification and secession: the case for constitutional flexibility

This event is being held online and in-person at Sydney Law School.

Speaker: Professor Kit Wellman, Washington University in St Louis 

Americans live in a political marriage arranged by our ancestors. The good news is that the framers of our Constitution were brilliant; the bad news is that things have changed so dramatically since our predecessors planned our political nuptials that prominent legal theorists are now suggesting that we should fundamentally alter, if not disband, the Union. The urge to re-evaluate our constitutional order stems in part from the striking cultural and political divisions among contemporary Americans. In light of these cleavages, legal scholars are revisiting the long-neglected ideas of nullification, interposition, and secession.

In this essay, I review recent monographs by Timothy William Waters and F.H. Buckley along with an anthology edited by Sanford Levinson. I am more interested in highlighting the important questions these theorists raise about the constitutionality, morality, and advisability of these measures than I am in advancing any particular position. At least two striking conclusions seem warranted, though. First, we urgently need social scientific data on the potential costs and benefits, not only of state-breaking, but also of institutionally protecting secessionist rights. And second, given the increasing enthusiasm for the right to secede, it would be rash to summarily dismiss the more moderate option of nullification.

Speaker:

​Professor Kit Wellman works in ethics, specializing in political and legal philosophy. He serves as chair of the education department and is dean of academic planning for Arts & Sciences.

Thursday 30 June 2022, 6-7.30pm AEST

This event is being held an online and in-person at Sydney Law School. Please indicate your viewing preference when registering.

CPD Points: 1.5

This event is hosted by the Julius Stone Institute of Jurisprudence at The University of Sydney Law School.