Photo: Caitlin Cunningham

Constitutional Crisis

In an acclaimed new book, Law School Professor Aziz Rana argues that mythologizing our founding document is impeding the country鈥檚 progress.

The Constitution is often held up as the bedrock of American democracy, a sacrosanct founding document that not only defines our rights as citizens but, two centuries after its ratification, continues to show us the way toward a brighter and more just future. But what if that very belief is actually holding back American progress? That鈥檚 the argument in an influential new book written by the renowned legal scholar Aziz Rana, who recently joined the Law School as the J. Donald Monan, S.J., University Professor of Law and Government.

In The Constitutional Bind: How Americans Came to Idolize a Document That Fails Them, Rana writes that while there have been ebbs and flows of reverence for the Constitution over time, our current level of veneration, which borders on worship, is largely a product of the twentieth century, coinciding with America鈥檚 rise as a global power. As America鈥檚 prominence on the global stage grew, he argues, the Constitution helped us explain what made our country special. 鈥淢y book is really an effort to understand American constitutional culture,鈥� Rana said. 鈥淗ow did we get to a point where it鈥檚 very hard to think and talk about the Constitution precisely because of the outsized cultural role it plays?鈥�

Book cover

The book has generated glowing praise from media outlets, reviewers, and legal scholars alike. The New Republic called it 鈥渃harismatic and forceful on every page,鈥� while Kirkus described it as a 鈥渨ork of legal and political history that speaks eloquently to democratic reform.鈥� Yale Law School鈥檚 Reva Siegel, meanwhile, hailed the book as 鈥減aradigm shifting.鈥� When Rana submitted a related op-ed to The New York Times that called for changes to the Constitution, the former Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi applauded his 鈥渟trong case for legislative solutions that will reinforce American democracy.鈥�

As reactions like these indicate, Rana鈥檚 hiring last year was a significant coup for the Law School. 鈥淗e is at once a pioneer who is exploring the horizons of several fields, and also a committed classroom teacher and mentor to the next generation of lawyers,鈥� Boston College Provost and Dean of Faculties David Quigley said.

Rana, as it happens, is also the husband of the prominent international economic law scholar Odette Lienau, who in 2023 was hired away from Cornell University to become the Law School鈥檚 inaugural Marianne D. Short, Esq., Dean. When it was announced that Rana would also leave Cornell to join the Law School faculty, it represented a unique opportunity for 51茶馆 to add two academic stars at the same time (see Power Couple, below). Quigley said that Rana has already begun making his mark in Law School classrooms. 鈥淗e seeks to embody our ideal of the teacher-scholar,鈥� he said.

Of course, as the success of The Constitutional Bind demonstrates, Rana鈥檚 influence has hardly been limited to Chestnut Hill. The book may seem a timely commentary on our current moment of debate about the democratic merits of the Electoral College, the Senate, and the Supreme Court, but Rana argues that demands to amend the Constitution are as old as the document itself. America has a long history of thinkers who have pushed for a 鈥渄eeper transformation鈥� of the Constitution, he writes, only to be 鈥渢horoughly marginalized鈥� by the modern era. The book explores both how we came to worship the Constitution and how we can move beyond the current legislative gridlock that the document enables. Rana was born in Los Angeles but spent his early childhood in his father鈥檚 home country of Kenya. He moved back to the States when he was six, but traveled to Kenya often to visit family. 鈥淚 think of myself as very much an American, but I feel like I have a perspective that鈥檚 shaped by the time I spent outside the country,鈥� he said.

Rana attended Harvard as an undergrad (that鈥檚 where he and Lienau met), then earned a JD from Yale Law School and a PhD in political science from Harvard. He was the Richard and Lois Cole Professor of Law at Cornell, where he taught from 2010 to 2023. In the classroom, he said, 鈥渢he energy from the students and the shifting perspectives and dynamics immeasurably improve not just my teaching, but my thinking generally. It鈥檚 definitely had an impact on the writing I do.鈥�

Cornell Law Professor Michael Dorf said Rana鈥檚 students loved him, even those who may have disagreed with him on some issues. 鈥淚 think that鈥檚 because of his sincerity and his generosity toward the students,鈥� Dorf said. 鈥淗e鈥檚 not judging them. He鈥檚 giving his account.鈥�

Lienau echoed the sentiment. 鈥淗e鈥檚 an incredibly compelling teacher, but also a kind person,鈥� she said. 鈥淗e goes to a conference and somehow ends up on three different dissertation committees for people at other institutions, or ends up being asked to write tenure letters.鈥�

Rana began working on The Constitutional Bind ten years ago. Even then, at a very different moment in American politics, he was struck by the mythology surrounding the Constitution, right down to the way it was taught in law school. He rewrote the introduction to the book repeatedly as time went on, with each of the revisions reflecting the shifting times and attitudes around the document. 鈥淭he last version,鈥� he said, 鈥渉ighlights how we鈥檙e living during this moment in which constitutional support is really breaking down.鈥澨�

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Photo of Odette and Aziz

Power Couple

When the Law School hired the powerhouse Cornell University law professor Odette Lienau in 2023 to become the inaugural Marianne D. Short, Esq., Dean, she wasn鈥檛 the only acclaimed academic who arrived in Chestnut Hill. Lienau is married to Aziz Rana, a renowned legal scholar who joined the Law School as the J. Donald Monan, S.J., University Professor of Law and Government.

Lienau and Rana met on their first day as Harvard undergraduates. 鈥淲e were in the same dorm, and I remember thinking he seemed cool, smart, kind,鈥� Lienau said. 鈥淎nd fun.鈥� Lienau, who focuses on international economic law, grew up in Indonesia, while Rana, a constitutional law scholar, was raised in both Kenya and the States. Their specialties today may be different, but Lienau said they both have always been 鈥渧ery interested in the larger issues of the world, in questions of justice.鈥� They also both majored in political science at Harvard, and even won the same prestigious academic prize, one year apart.

These days, they鈥檙e not just each other鈥檚 biggest supporters, they鈥檙e also the closest editors of each other鈥檚 work, even though their expertise and views differ widely. 鈥淚 have her editing voice in my mind when I think of my own writing,鈥� Rana said. 鈥淗er influence for me goes from the conversation level to real hands-on advice and editing work.鈥� Even as she was preparing for the move to 51茶馆, he recalled, Lienau gave him page-by-page edits of his new book.

Lienau said it鈥檚 been helpful throughout their careers to have each other as a knowledgeable sounding board. 鈥淲e understand where the other person is coming from,鈥� she said, 鈥渂ut can also say, 鈥榯his is too much in the weeds.鈥欌�滱fter living in Cambridge and Somerville during their years at Harvard, Rana said the couple, who have two children, have been charmed by getting to know Boston in a different era of life. 鈥淲e have a lot of connections and positive memories and associations with Boston,鈥� he said. 鈥淲hat's been really fun is just getting a broader experience of the city.鈥澨�

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