Governing after the rights revolution

In this paper I explore the relevance of neo-republican thinking for curren t debates in constitutional law. In particular, I am interested in how deli berative forms of law and democracy might be grounded in real-world institu tional contexts. My thesis is that the neo-republican model, underpinned as it is by the values of equality, participation, and accountability, has bo th explanatory and critical potential when exploring the voices, spaces, an d processes of constitutionalism I test this argument with reference to con stitutional change in Northern Ireland It is evident that equality is the c ore value in the settlement reached but it is in the combination of values that the potential and tensions will arise in the future. The provisions of the Northern Ireland Act 1998 on equality are useful examples of how law m ight be shaped to include the voices of affected groups in the process of e nforcing change in public administration. Law's role in this process is, ho wever, move problematic than is often assumed In this, and in other aspects of the settlement, there are lessons for others who are presently reflecti ng on the constitutional future in the new devolutionary contexts.