The United Kingdom’s (UK) constitutional order is unusual because it lacks a single codified constitution and relies heavily on parliamentary sovereignty. As a result, constitutional rules are not entrenched and can be changed by a simple parliamentary majority. Many of the norms that structure political life are conventions rather than legally enforceable rules, giving the system a high degree of flexibility but also instability and ambiguity. Several institutional features reinforce this exceptionalism: the absence of strong constitutional review, a weak second chamber, and the first‑past‑the‑post electoral system. Together, these produce a concentration of political authority at the centre unmatched in most comparable democracies.
This concentration operates both horizontally, within Westminster—where executive dominance is a persistent concern—and vertically, because the UK remains one of the most centralised states in the OECD in terms of fiscal control and public spending. These characteristics make the UK a textbook example of what Arend Lijphart termed a majoritarian democracy, a model he contrasted with consensus democracies and argued was less conducive to effective, stable policymaking.
PhD Studentships
Against this backdrop, CISRUL launched PhD studentships inviting researchers to examine whether the UK’s constitutional architecture helps explain aspects of its economic performance. Applicants were encouraged to explore three broad questions: whether the UK remains an international outlier despite recent reforms; whether it truly exemplifies majoritarian democracy; and whether its constitutional design contributes to its relative economic decline. The programme thus seeks to connect constitutional structure with economic outcomes, encouraging interdisciplinary, comparative research into how political institutions shape economic governance.
The PhD candidates we have working on constitutionalism include:
- Daisy Mugadza, who began her PhD in February of 2025. Her subject area is Constitutional Law, and, under the supervision of Dr Erin Ferguson (School of Law and CISRUL) and Dr Robert Taylor (School of Law), she is conducting research surrounding the separation of powers in English public law.
- Boglarka Vincze, whose PhD project began in October 2024. She researches waves of constitutional change in the UK’s devolved nations, focusing on the evolution of devolution frameworks. Her supervisors are Professor Tamas Gyorfi (School of Law and CISRUL) and Dr Erin Ferguson.
Events
Alongside seminars hosted by the Centre for Constitutional and Public International Law, co-directed by CISRUL lead team member Dr Erin Ferguson, CISRUL has begun a series of reading seminars on the topic, led by Boglarka and Daisy together with their supervisors:
- “What Is a constitution? reading toward a problem”: To introduce CISRUL staff and students to what constitutions do, how they take shape, and how we come to know them.
- “Environmental constitutionalism”: To discuss the nature and aims of environmental constitutionalism, which in turn can challenge us to consider what constitutions are for generally.
Upcoming seminars and events related to constitutionalism are planned and will be advertised on our events page.