The Design and Practice of African Constitutionalism
This chapter explores and examines how legal syncretism as a result permeates the design and practice of African constitutionalism. By seriously considering the constitutional structures and rights, as well as their practical applications, the chapter attempts to decrypt the identity, nature, and texture of African constitutionalism through legal syncretism. The chapter explicates the nature of the African state and its various modalities of organization, examines the African government architecture, and investigates the constitutional rights regime. Through a closer look at the texts and contexts of constitutions and constitutionalism in Africa, and building on legal, constitutional, social, political, and international relations theory, the chapter aims to reveal the distinctive features of African constitutionalism. The overarching objective of this chapter is to underscore why appreciating the syncretic features of African constitutionalism is necessary for understanding, improving, and fostering constitutionalism on the continent.