Bellamy and King on Constitutional Theory

Professor Richard Bellamy and Professor Jeff King edit new volume on constitutional theory.

15 May 2025

A new volume on constitutional theory, edited by GCDC members Professor Richard Bellamy and Professor Jeff King, has recently been published. The volume, titled The Cambridge Handbook of Constitutional Theory (Cambridge University Press, 2025), brings together contributions from leading scholars in law, philosophy, and political science. With sixty chapters, the book offers both a comprehensive survey of the field and a significant contribution to its development. It has been described as a ‘remarkable and innovative book’ and ‘a theoretical tour de force’, demanding ‘a place on the bookshelves of any and all scholars interested in constitutionalism and its theoretical underpinnings’.

The book is divided into three parts. The first covers the values upheld by constitutions, the second explores the modalities of constitutional systems, and the third focuses on the institutions through which a constitution operates. The book also considers contemporary challenges to constitutional governance, including rising inequality, populism, climate change, and migration.

In addition to editing the volume and co-authoring a substantive introduction, Bellamy and King each contribute individual chapters to the volume. King’s chapter on the rule of law presents two competing approaches to understanding the principle – the legal essentialist approach and the limited government approach – arguing that the latter is more persuasive than the former. Meanwhile, Bellamy’s chapter on Bills of Rights examines not the content but the form such Bills should take in order to be legitimate. The chapter explores four conceptions of Bills of Rights: procedural, substantive, legislative, and democratic.

The book is currently available through Cambridge University Press.