The First Amendment in Cross-cultural Perspective

by Krotoszynski, Ronald J.

• ISBN13: 9780814748251
• ISBN10: 0814748252
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2009-03-01
• Publisher: New York Univ Pr

Summary

The First Amendment - and its guarantee of free speech for all Americans - has been at the centre of scholarly and public debate since the birth of the Constitution, and the fervor in which intellectuals, politicians, and ordinary citizens approach the topic shows no sign of abating as the legal boundaries and definitions of free speech are continually evolving and facing new challenges. Such discussions have generally remained within the boundaries of the U.S. Constitution and its American context, but consideration of free speech in other industrial democracies can offer valuable insights into the relationship between free speech and democracy on a larger and more global scale, thereby shedding new light on some unexamined (and untested) assumptions that underlie U.S. free speech doctrine. Ronald J. Krotoszynski, Jr., compares the First Amendment with free speech law in Japan, Canada, Germany, and the United Kingdom - countries that are all considered modern democracies but have radically different understandings of what constitutes free speech. Challenging the popular - and largely American - assertion that free speech is inherently necessary for democracy to thrive, Krotoszynski contends that it is very difficult to speak of free speech in universalist terms when the concept is examined from a framework of comparative law that takes cultural difference into full account.

Author Biography

Ronald J. Krotoszynski, Jr., compares the First Amendment with free speech law in Canada, Germany, Japan, and the United Kingdom-all modern democracies, but nevertheless nations that have established radically different understandings of what constitutes free speech. Challenging the popular-and largely American-assertion that an absolute commitment to protecting free speech is an essential condition for democracy to thrive, he contends that it is very difficult to discuss free speech in universal terms when the concept is examined from a framework of comparative law that takes cultural difference into full account. Ronald J. Krotoszynski, JR., is the John S. Stone Chair, Director of Faculty Research, and Professor of Law at the University of Alabama School of Law.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments	p. xi
Preface	p. xiii
Comparative Law, Free Speech, and the "Central Meaning" of the First Amendment	p. 1
Freedom of Speech in the United States	p. 12
Free Speech in Canada: Balancing Free Speech and a Commitment to Communitarian Values	p. 26
Free Speech in Germany: Militant Democracy and the Primacy of Dignity as a Preferred Constitutional Value	p. 93
Freedom of Speech in Japan: Disentangling Culture, Community, and Freedom of Expression	p. 139
Freedom of Expression in the United Kingdom: Free Speech and the Limits of a Written Constitution	p. 183
Free Speech and the Culturally Contingent Nature of Human Rights: Some Concluding Observations	p. 214
Notes	p. 223
Index	p. 291
About the Author	p. 301
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