An in-depth look at Economic and Social Rights: A conversation with Professor Katharine Young
In this episode, Centre Co-Director Professor Adrienne Stone sits down with Professor Katie Young, Professor and the Robert A. Trevisani Dean’s Faculty Fellow at Boston College Law School.
Katie researches and writes widely across international human rights law, comparative constitutional law, law and gender, and is a world leading expert on social and economic rights. In this episode, Katie discusses her nearly completed Oxford Handbook of Social and Economic rights. Co-edited by Macolm Langford, this volume presents a rich picture of social and economic rights from philosophical, historical, social scientific, and legal perspectives.
You can access the first 10 published chapters of the Oxford Handbook of Social and Economic rights via the following link:
https://academic.oup.com/edited-volume/44323 (https://academic.oup.com/edited-volume/44323)
Recommended reading:
Professor Youngs reading group at Harvard Law School: Economic and Social Rights: Prospects and Perils (https://hls.harvard.edu/courses/economic-and-social-rights-prospects-and-perils/)
Levy, J.T. (2025) ‘The Separation of Powers’, in R. Bellamy and J. King (eds.) The Cambridge Handbook of Constitutional Theory. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press (Cambridge Law Handbooks), pp. 279–296. (https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/cambridge-handbook-of-constitutional-theory/separation-of-powers/80594CBF086F19D1F64649A2A3141A62?utm_campaign=shareaholic&utm_medium=copy_link&utm_source=bookmark)
Constitutional Cafe is a podcast of the Centre for Comparative Constitutional Studies at Melbourne Law School, University of Melbourne. You can find out more about the work of the Centre here (https://law.unimelb.edu.au/centres/cccs).
We acknowledge the Wurundjeri Woi Wurrung peoples of the Kulin Nation as the Traditional Owners of the land on which we record, learn, and live.
5 May 2026
Human rights advocacy in authoritarian countries
In this episode, Centre Co-Director Will Partlett speaks with Pavel Chikov about his experiences of protecting human rights in Russia and what lessons this has for rights advocacy more broadly around the world.
Pavel Chikov is one of Europe’s leading human rights lawyers. In 2023, he was awarded the OSCE Democracy Defender Award for his legal work protecting journalists, human rights defenders, and civil society activists in Russia. In 2014, he received the prestigious Rafto Prize for his work defending the rule of law. Currently Pavel leads a team of security and legal consultants for NGOs in Europe, South Asia, Middle East, Africa, and the U.S. He is also a member of the Expert Council on NGO Law of the Council of Europe.
Recommended reading:
Patriot, Alexei Navalny
Constitutional Cafe is a podcast of the Centre for Comparative Constitutional Studies at Melbourne Law School, University of Melbourne. You can find out more about the work of the Centre here (https://law.unimelb.edu.au/centres/cccs).
We acknowledge the Wurundjeri Woi Wurrung peoples of the Kulin Nation as the Traditional Owners of the land on which we record, learn, and live.
21 Apr 2026
Minority rights protection in a changing world
In this episode, Centre Co-Director Will Partlett speaks with Professor Abeyratne about some of the lessons of his recently published book, Courts and LGBTQ+ Rights in an Age of Judicial Retrenchment (Oxford University Press 2025).
Rehan Abeyratne (https://researchers.westernsydney.edu.au/en/persons/rehan-abeyratne/) is Professor and Director of Higher Degree Research and Honours at Western Sydney University (WSU) School of Law. Professor Abeyratne’s primary research area is comparative constitutionalism. He serves as an elected member of the International Society of Public Law (ICON-S) Council and as co-chair of the Society’s Committee on New Directions in Scholarship. He holds editorial positions at the Asian Journal of Comparative Law (Subject Editor) and at Comparative Constitutional Studies (Special Issue Editor).
Recommended reading:
Ideas with Consequences: The Federalist Society and the Conservative Counterrevolution, Amanda Hollis-Brusky
Judges and Their Audiences: A Perspective on Judicial Behavior, Lawrence Baum
The Rise and Fall of the Neoliberal Order: America and the World in the Free Market Era, Gary Gerstle
Global perspectives on same-sex marriage : a neo-institutional approach, Bronwyn Winter, Maxime Forest, Réjane Sénac
Constitutional Cafe is a podcast of the Centre for Comparative Constitutional Studies at Melbourne Law School, University of Melbourne. You can find out more about the work of the Centre here (https://law.unimelb.edu.au/centres/cccs).
We acknowledge the Wurundjeri Woi Wurrung peoples of the Kulin Nation as the Traditional Owners of the land on which we record, learn, and live.
7 Apr 2026
Constitutional resilience in Sri Lanka
In this episode, Centre Co-Director Will Partlett talks with Professor Dinesha Samararatne about the role constitutions can play in rebuilding democracy. In particular, she talks about her own experience in rebuilding Sri Lankan constitutional democracy both as an academic and member of the Constitutional Council.
Dinesha Samararatne (https://www.res.cmb.ac.lk/public.international.law/dinesha/) is a Professor at the Department of Public & International Law at the Faculty of Law of the University of Colombo, Sri Lanka. Dinesha is a Senior Fellow at the Melbourne Law School and Editor of the University of Colombo Review. In 2023 she was appointed as an independent expert to the Constitutional Council of Sri Lanka.
Recommended reading:
The Global South and Comparative Constitutional Law, Philipp Dann, Michael Riegner, Maxim Bönnemann
Home in the World: A Memoir, Amartya Sen
Upon a Sleepless Isle, Andrew Fidel Fernando
Constitutional Cafe is a podcast of the Centre for Comparative Constitutional Studies at Melbourne Law School, University of Melbourne. You can find out more about the work of the Centre here (https://law.unimelb.edu.au/centres/cccs).
We acknowledge the Wurundjeri Woi Wurrung peoples of the Kulin Nation as the Traditional Owners of the land on which we record, learn, and live.
24 Mar 2026
Why the Russian Constitution Matters: A Conversation with William Partlett about the Russian Constitution and the Constitutional Dark Arts
In this episode, Adrienne Stone sits down with her Constitutional Café co-host and Director the Centre for Comparative Constitutional Studies, William Partlett to discuss his new book Why the Russian Constitutional Matters: The Constitutional Dark Arts (2024).
The book argues that the roots Putin’s vast power lie in the nature of the constitutional transition of the early 1990s, which created a powerful Presidency to ensure a democratic transition and to protect the long list of rights guaranteed in the Constitution. But though effective at the time, Will traces how this Constitution has since allowed Putin to consolidate personal control over Russian politics.
William Partlett (https://findanexpert.unimelb.edu.au/profile/744095-william-partlett) is an Associate Professor at Melbourne Law School. A specialist in Russian history, he holds degrees in Russian History as well as a law degree from Stanford University and is a Russian speaker. Professor Partlett’s research takes a historical and comparative approach to questions of public law.
Recommended reading:
Why the Russian Constitution Matters: The Constitutional Dark Arts, William Partlett
Latin American Constitutionalism, 1810–2010. The Engine Room of the Constitution, Roberto Gargarella
Technopopulism: The New Logic of Democratic Politics, Christopher J. Bickerton, Carlo Invernizzi Accetti
The Penguin History of Modern Russia, Robert Service
Constitutional Cafe is a podcast of the Centre for Comparative Constitutional Studies at Melbourne Law School, University of Melbourne. You can find out more about the work of the Centre here (https://law.unimelb.edu.au/centres/cccs).
We acknowledge the Wurundjeri Woi Wurrung peoples of the Kulin Nation as the Traditional Owners of the land on which we record, learn, and live.
10 Mar 2026
Democracy, Elections and Polarisation: How a long-forgotten Australian can help us save democracy
In this episode, Constitutional Café co- host Adrienne Stone talks with Professor Edward Foley, a recent distinguished visitor at Melbourne Law about democracy, polarisation and electoral systems.
Professor Foley is interested in how voting systems might help depolarize the intense partisan competition that is experienced in the United States. In a recent lecture (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9uIq_EYRMA4) delivered in Melbourne he shone new light on the work of Australian mathematician who in the late 19th and early 20th Century pioneered “ranked choice” or “preferential” voting, which has been in place in Australia for decades and forms part of Australia’s unique voting system.
Edward B. Foley (https://moritzlaw.osu.edu/edward-b-foley-ba-jd) holds the Ebersold Chair in Constitutional Law at The Ohio State University, where he directs also its election law program, and is widely recognized as one of the United States’ foremost experts on election law.
Recommended reading:
On Democracy, Robert A. Dahl
Grant, Ron Chernow
Constitutional Cafe is a podcast of the Centre for Comparative Constitutional Studies at Melbourne Law School, University of Melbourne. You can find out more about the work of the Centre here (https://law.unimelb.edu.au/centres/cccs).
We acknowledge the Wurundjeri Woi Wurrung peoples of the Kulin Nation as the Traditional Owners of the land on which we record, learn, and live.
28 Sept 2022
Democratic Constitutional Reform in Chile: Looking Back and Forward
Chile recently saw the defeat at a national referendum of a proposed new democratic constitution. What should we make of this result, and what does it mean for the future of democratic constitutional reform in Chile and globally? Did Chilean constitution-makers try to achieve too much, too fast? Was the vote the product of opposition disinformation, or popular misunderstanding? Or was the defeat a product of deeper forces pushing against the chances of successful democratic constitutional transformation?
In this podcast, Rosalind Dixon explores these questions with an expert Chilean and comparative constitutional panel, including Professor Veronica Undagarra, Javier Cuoso and David Landau.
See omnystudio.com/listener (https://omnystudio.com/listener) for privacy information.
10 Apr 2022
Post-Juristocracy - the End of Powerful Courts?
This podcast discusses the notion of 'post-juristocracy' - whether we're seeing the end of the broad global shift toward more powerful...
10 Apr 2022
Arab Constitutionalism: An Interview with Zaid Al Ali
Constitutional Café returns for a second season with an interview on a bold new book. Zaid Al Ali, Senior Programme Officer for...
10 Apr 2022
Inside Putin's Crackdown on Russia's Oldest Constitutional Rights Group
Associate Professor William Partlett speaks with Marina Agaltsova about her work at Memorial Human Rights Centre in Moscow and why that...
10 Apr 2022
Landmark judgments, constitutional revolutions and comparative constitutional law
The conceptualisation of landmark judgment and constitutional revolution is a topic that is new and to a certain extent quite original....
4 Apr 2022
Season 2 Trailer
Constitutional Cafe comes to you from the Centre for Comparative Constitutional Studies at the Melbourne Law School. It is a place for...
11 Apr 2021
The Global South in Comparative Constitutional Law
Why talk about the 'global south' in comparative constitutional law? In what ways does it matter and to whom? In this podcast episode...
11 Apr 2021
Reinventing Yourself as a Scholar
Comparative constitutional law scholars often find themselves working for a period of time, or even their entire career, in a legal...
11 Apr 2021
Constitutional Dimensions of Academic Freedom
'Academic freedom' is an idea close to the hearts of all constitutional scholars. But what are the constitutional dimensions of the...
11 Apr 2021
Post-Soviet Eurasian Constitutionalism
This podcast explores constitutional law in the understudied world of post-Soviet Eurasia. The discussion between the three guests -...
11 Apr 2021
Languages and Comparative Constitutional Method
This episode of the podcast focuses on an underexplored theme in comparative constitutional law methodology: how languages shape the...
21 Mar 2021
Season 1 trailer
Constitutional Cafe brings together constitutionalists the world over for informal but scholarly conversations about important issues...
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