The First Amendment in Cross-Cultural Perspective

"Krotoszynskis conclusions are revealing and forcefully presented. This is especially so when they are based on the authors sophisticated and copiously documented comparison of the U.S. with four advanced legal systems committed to participatory politics. The book undoubtedly challenges many of us who smugly accept American & exceptionalism in freedom of speech and the press. . . . Krotoszynski helps us appreciate the value of comparative free speech with a new, penetrating perspective." * Law and Politics Book Review * "Suggests that First Amendment scholars might find it useful to consider how other nations, committed to democratic government, have sought to resolve the constant tension between protecting speech while also securing equality." * New York Law Journal * "An important contribution in support of constitutional exceptionalism. . . . The great gift of Krotoszynskis book is to turn our attention to a knottier subject on which there is far less consensus." * Michigan Law Review * "There are very few scholars who are willing to read as widely in the law of the world as Krotoszynski, and very few who are capable of forming such confident and intelligent judgments." -- James Whitman,Yale Law School "The uniquely American sense of freedom that makes the First Amendment so beloved and so respected in its homeland is precisely what makes it a difficult model for constitutional protection of expression in other political systems. In this survey of free speech policies in Canada, Germany, Japan, and the United Kingdom, Krotosyznski introduces American students and scholars of constitutional law to a diverse range of culturally contingent approaches to protecting the freedom of expression in other industrialized countries. . . . As Krotosyznskis fascinating project demonstrates, comparative constitutional analysis challenges us as Americans to examine critically the cultural assumptions underlying our legal system." -- Jim Chen,University of Minnesota Law School

Ronald J. Krotoszynski, Jr., is the John S. Stone Chair, Director of Faculty Research, and Professor of Law at the University of Alabama School of Law. He is co-author of Administrative Law.

Acknowledgments Preface 1 Comparative Law, Free Speech, and the "Central Meaning" of the First Amendment 2 Freedom of Speech in the United States 3 Free Speech in Canada: Balancing Free Speech and a Commitment to Communitarian Values 4 Free Speech in Germany: Militant Democracy and the Primacy of Dignity as a Preferred Constitutional Value 5 Freedom of Speech in Japan: Disentangling Culture,Community, and Freedom of Expression 6 Freedom of Expression in the United Kingdom: Free Speech and the Limits of a Written Constitution 7 Free Speech and the Culturally Contingent Nature of Human Rights: Some Concluding Observations Notes Index About the Author