Mexico City, June 18, 2024.- Experiences abroad are essential for scholars as they allow them to gain knowledge, skills, broaden their network, develop their career and enrich themselves personally. Such was the case of Dr. Jaime Olaiz González, research professor at the School of Law for Universidad Panamericana, who recently had the opportunity to join the Kellogg Institute for International Studies as the Fulbright-García Robles COMEXUS Mexico Studies Professor at the University of Notre Dame.
World-class experience
Jaime states that this opportunity came about because, as a Fulbright-García Robles alumnus, he receives the calls issued by COMEXUS for various programs. Therefore, due to his ongoing research projects on constitutional change, he decided to apply for the professorships he offered at the University of Notre Dame and the University of Texas in Austin. “I was eventually selected as a visiting fellow at the Kellogg Institute for International Studies at the University of Notre Dame,” he recalls.
This institution stands out for its strong Christian identity, which influences all of its academic and research activities, making it a world-class university. For this reason, Universidad Panamericana has been following the work being done very attentively for years.
It was because of this interest and institutional identification that the scholar thought it was an excellent opportunity to take advantage of a semester to learn from them and contribute to the partnership and collaboration between Panamericana and Notre Dame.
“It was a one-of-a-kind opportunity because it allowed me to study a master’s degree at Yale Law School, from which I entered their doctoral program, and that experience was instrumental for my formation as a research professor,” he explains.
Constitutional regressions
During his semester at the Kellogg Institute at the University of Notre Dame, Dr. Olaiz’s research project focused on two main issues.
One was the analysis of the growing conflict between political majorities and the dictates of the constitution and their impact on the erosion of the institutions that sustain the democratic system and the rule of law; and the second was to identify comparative experiences that have been successful in order to put a halt on these regressive or degenerative processes.
He also adds that he has been working on a research project that addresses a growing concern about the impossibility in Mexico to describe the (un)constitutionality of a reform approved by the reforming power of the Great Charter.
“In a nutshell, I have tried to answer the question “Is there any protection against a constitutional reform that complies with all the procedural requirements established by the constitution itself, but that alters or changes essential contents of the constitutional text such as the pro persona principle and the protection of human rights, the democratic and republican form of government, or the federal character of the Mexican State?” he asks.
Study of constitutional change
The scholar points out that, since his doctoral studies and the preparation of his thesis, he has been devoted to the study of constitutional change from a comparative perspective, and currently the so-called abusive constitutionalism is one of the main concerns within the discussions of contemporary constitutional theory.”
Likewise, he reveals that the discovery in each jurisdiction of what is understood as constitutional identity is an essential process to define those contents, principles and values of the constitution that are not susceptible to change even by super-majority parliamentary coalitions.
He then states: “In this sense, I was able to present my research at the work-in-progress seminar organized by the Kellogg Institute for its professors and visiting fellows with professors Aníbal Pérez Liñán, Diane Desierto and Francisco Urbina as commentators, among others.
Additionally, a conference on the state of democracy and constitutionalism in Mexico in the face of this year’s federal elections was organized jointly by the School of Law at Universidad Panamericana and the Kellogg Institute, with the participation of Minister Alfredo Gutiérrez Ortiz Mena, José Antonio Meade, and Francisca Pou Giménez.
Opportunity to broaden perspectives
Jaime has had academic experiences in institutions in the United States, Chile and elsewhere. In that respect, he states that “experiences and dialogue with other colleagues allows you to broaden not only your perspectives, but also the way in which you conduct your research.“
He adds that “it also helps you to join working groups with common intellectual concerns and immersed in different international academic activities that foster ongoing conversation, as wells as the articulation of common research projects.”
Regarding the academic internship at the Kellogg Institute, he states: “it has allowed me to learn about the work of colleagues from other disciplines and to appreciate their contributions to the research work on the science of law. These exchanges and learning allow you to direct your work to audiences other than your own area of expertise or discipline.”
Future plans
Dr. Olaiz reveals that as a result of his internship at the University of Notre Dame, he has been able to join a new academic network within the Kellogg Institute with which he intends to continue developing different research projects and, above all, to articulate institutional channels of collaboration with Universidad Panamericana that will allow more professors and students to take advantage of an international experience of this kind.
He also adds that due to his internship, he received an invitation as Visiting Resource Professor of the Teresa Lozano Long Institute of Latin American Studies (LLILAS) for the University of Texas at Austin, to give a lecture on constitutional change in Mexico in December of this year, within the program Constitutional Amendments in the U.S. and the World, directed by Professor Richard Albert, with whom he is currently working on two research projects: one on constitutional multi-textualism and the other on constitutional dismemberments in Latin America.
Undoubtedly, Dr. Olaiz’s experience underscores the importance of academic internships abroad as a means of fostering the exchange of ideas, enriching knowledge and strengthening connections between educational institutions globally.
Learn more about this scholar at: https://www.up.edu.mx/investigacion/jaime-olaiz-gonzalez/?asp_highlight=Jaime+olaiz+gonz%C3%A1lez&p_asid=6
