Constitutionalism in the Age of Extremes

We live in an age of extremes—extreme weather events caused by climate change, extreme loss of lives due to pandemics, extreme economic inequality, and political and social extremes exacerbated by the compound effects of old, entrenched cleavages based on race, gender, religion, and social class and new technologies of the internet, algorithms, and artificial intelligence. These extremes have led to polarized politics, violence, mass shootings, protests in public streets and government buildings, mass migration and xenophobia, coups d'état, armed conflicts, and even wars. Worse still, these extremes and their tragic consequences are no longer exceptions that occur only in a few generations’ time or once in a lifetime. Rather, they are a constant presence in our daily lives, on the news, and in videos on our digital devices. Constitutional Studies’ December 2025 issue analyzes the consequences of these extremes for constitutionalism today.