Joaquín Varela. Historian of Constitutionalism

Abstract

Joaquín Varela Suanzes-Carpegna trained with Ignacio de Otto, the leading representative of normativist positivism in Spain. It is surprising, then, that from the time of his doctoral thesis his scientific and academic vocation was exclusively oriented towards constitutional history, a discipline in which he ended up becoming the greatest specialist our country has ever produced. His main contribution -beyond a bibliography marked by rigor, reflection and originality- lay in his attempt to turn constitutional history into an autonomous discipline which, for the first time in our country, he proposed to endow with a specific methodology. He was also responsible for the first research center set up in Spain on this subject, and for the creation of the first Spanish journal devoted monographically to this discipline. His legacy goes beyond his writings, forging a unique way of conceiving constitutional history.