Abstract
Despite manifestations of constitutional convergence on a global scale, expressions of constitutional resistance or defiance in the form of secessionism and nullification have not subsided, and may in fact be regaining ground worldwide. Whereas at first glance the reemergence of such sentiments appears counterintuitive in an age of apparent globalization, it may actually reflect a predictable reaction to, perhaps even a backlash against, powerful global convergence vectors, the centralization of authority and the decline of the local in an increasingly—constitutionally and otherwise—universalized reality. When understood against the backdrop of formidable centripetal forces of political, cultural, and economic globalization, the rise of a new trans-national constitutional order and judicial class, and the corresponding decrease in the autonomy of “Westphalian” constitutionalism, as well as an ever-increasing deficit of democratic legitimacy, counter pressures for preserving a given sub-national unit’s, region’s, or community’s unique constitutional legacy, cultural-linguistic heritage, and political voice seem destined to intensify, not to decline.