Constitutional Courts and Electoral Integrity. Navigating Challenges, Shaping Prospects, edited by Rachele Bizzari and Angioletta Sperti, is now available from Pisa University Press. Bringing together scholars from universities across Europe, including institutions within the Circle U. alliance, the volume collects the proceedings of ProStEUVa’s first annual workshop, held at the University of Pisa on 24 September 2025.
Taking the recent Romanian experience as its point of departure, the volume adopts a comparative and interdisciplinary perspective to explore how constitutional adjudication can help to safeguard democracy without becoming entangled in the very political conflicts it is called upon to regulate. Judicial intervention may strengthen the protection of political rights and the fairness of electoral competition, but it also requires solid legal foundations, procedural safeguards, transparent reasoning and proportionate remedies if the risks of politicisation and exceptionalism are to be avoided.
Through case studies, comparative analyses and theoretical reflections, the chapters address issues at the intersection of constitutional law, EU law, digital communication and democratic theory. A central argument runs throughout the volume: in the digital age, electoral integrity depends not only on the proper conduct of voting procedures, but also on the quality of the public sphere, the transparency of campaigning, resilience against manipulation, and the capacity of institutions to uphold democracy, the rule of law and pluralism. Bringing together perspectives from Europe, Latin America and Africa, the book also engages with major contemporary challenges such as disinformation, opaque digital campaigning and new forms of technological manipulation.
Closely aligned with the objectives of ProStEUVa, the volume provides a valuable framework for reflecting on how the values enshrined in Article 2 TEU may be translated into effective institutional safeguards, meaningful remedies and stronger democratic resilience. At the same time, it stands as a particularly meaningful example of how academic exchange within Circle U. can foster collaborative and inclusive research across borders, especially by creating opportunities for early-career scholars to present and publish their work in an international academic setting.
The volume is available in open access and may be downloaded from the Pisa University Press website. For more on the Pisa workshop, including reflections from its organisers and participants, visit the University of Pisa and Circle U. websites.
