Editorials in academic journals can serve many functions, including as a snapshot of a discipline’s preoccupations at a particular moment in time. As Global Constitutionalism enters its fourth year of publication, we begin with refl ections on the current global political environment. If last year’s editorial asked ‘How large is the world of global constitutionalism?’ – and earlier editorials elaborated on the rationale for a new journal on Global Constitutionalism 1 and addressed the interdisciplinary challenges arising from the journal’s novel remit 2 – this year the mood is decidedly different. Indeed, in light of developments over the past year, it is appropriate to consider whether, as a political matter, at least certain elements of global constitutionalism have provisionally peaked or even entered a period of decline – and if so, how scholars interested in global constitutional processes should respond.