Conclusion

Because the developments examined here are relatively recent, we cannot draw confident conclusions about how crowd-sourcing and public hearings or similar mechanisms would work if widely adopted. Successful innovations in constitu­tional technology are rare, and these may turn out to be ventures down paths that end at a blank wall. Yet, both are clearly in a constitutionalist tradition that makes the consent of the public an important part of constitutional foundations. Examining them not only gives us some insights into the processes of constitution-making generally, but also suggests the possibility of institutional innovations to deepen the normative foundation of constitutionalism.