Constituent Indigenous power: Melissa S. Williams, Dale A. Turner, ‘Indigenous Constituent Power’, in Peter Niesen et al (eds), The Oxford Handbook of Constituent Power, Oxford University Press, 2026, pp. 491-505 | settler colonial studies blog

Constituent Indigenous power: Melissa S. Williams, Dale A. Turner, ‘Indigenous Constituent Power’, in Peter Niesen et al (eds), The Oxford Handbook of Constituent Power, Oxford University Press, 2026, pp. 491-505

02Mar26

Abstract: The core meaning of constituent power resonates with many historical traditions of Indigenous political thought and practice. Indigenous peoples continue to exercise constituent power through the (re-)constitution of political orders at multiple scales of governance, from the local to the global. These juris-generative practices are often grounded in Indigenous spirituality and treaty-making, affirming relations of interdependence between Indigenous polities, non-Indigenous polities, and other living beings. Indigenous constituent power challenges conventional understandings on at least five dimensions: (i) its collective subject is not a state-bounded demos; (ii) it is de-linked from state-centred conceptions of sovereignty; (iii) it does not usually assert comprehensive jurisdiction over all subject matters of legislation; (iv) it generates politico-legal orders at multiple scales of politics, above, below, and across state boundaries; and (v) it constitutes orders that regulate not only human political relationships but also relations between human societies and the more-than-human environments that sustain them.

Filed under: Uncategorized | Closed