Efficient Secrets

Constitutions provide the basic laws and principles of government for modern states. They determine the powers and duties of those who govern, and guarantee rights and freedoms to those who are governed. Yet few countries politics can be understood through these documents alone. Constitutions have, in Walter Bagehot’s famous formulation, “secrets” which don’t always align to “the traditional theory, as it exists in all the books”. This podcast looks at the different efficient secrets of democratic constitutions, as well as the challenges to them, to gain deeper insights into the unstable and fractious politics of the twenty first century – a time when democratic politics finds itself under increasing attack. The podcast is part of a broader project, the Oxford Constitutional Studies Forum, which brings together scholars of law and politics to understand the challenges faced by liberal democracies across the world today.