Territory and Power in Constitutional Transitions

Territorial Politics ◽

Salient Regions ◽

Realist View ◽

This volume explores the full range of challenges that different kinds of territorial cleavages pose for Constitution-making processes and constitutional design. It provides seventeen case studies of countries going through periods of intense constitutional engagement in which the issue of how to deal with the politics of territory is important. It is unique in that its cases include the full gamut of types of territorial cleavages—small distinct territories, bi-communal countries, highly diverse countries with many politically salient regions, and countries where territorial politics is important but secondary to other bases for political mobilization. While the volume draws significant normative conclusions, it is based on a highly realist view of the implications not only of the territorial and other salient political cleavages in the country (the country’s “political geometry”) but also of the power-configurations that lead into periods of constitutional engagement, so that processes differ depending on whether the preceding politics has been peaceful or violent and whether a victor, military or political, has emerged or whether there is a stalemate or diffused political power. Its thematic chapters on Constitution-making processes and constitutional design, along with the final synthetic chapter, draw original conclusions from the comparative analysis of the case studies and relate these to the literature, both in political science and comparative constitutional law. There are clear lessons that should help practitioners in analyzing their own challenges in dealing with territorial cleavages as well as in considering possible approaches to constitution-making and constitutional design.

Constituting Scotland

10.3366/edinburgh/9780748697595.001.0001 ◽

2016 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

W. Elliot Bulmer

Keyword(s):

Constitutional Law ◽

Constitutional Theory ◽

Constitutional Design ◽

Global Trends ◽

National Movement ◽

Constitutional Thought ◽

Scottish Government ◽

Historical Trajectory ◽

Constitutional Tradition

The rise of the Scottish national movement has been accompanied by the emergence of distinct constitutional ideas, claims and arguments, which may affect constitutional design in any future independent Scotland. Drawing on the fields of constitutional theory, comparative constitutional law, and Scottish studies, this book examines the historical trajectory of the constitutional question in Scotland and analyses the influences and constraints on the constitutional imagination of the Scottish national movement, in terms of both the national and international contexts. It identifies an emerging Scottish nationalist constitutional tradition that is distinct from British constitutional orthodoxies but nevertheless corresponds to broad global trends in constitutional thought and design. Much of the book is devoted to the detailed exposition and comparative analysis of the draft constitution for an independent Scotland published by the SNP in 2002. The 2014 draft interim Constitution presented by the Scottish Government is also examined, and the two texts are contrasted to show the changing nature of the SNP’s constitutional policy: from liberal-procedural constitutionalism in pursuit of a more inclusive polity, to a more populist and majoritarian constitutionalism.

Public Participation in African Constitutionalism

Potchefstroom Electronic Law Journal/Potchefstroomse Elektroniese Regsblad ◽

10.17159/1727-3781/2019/v22i0a6310 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 22 ◽

pp. 1-7

Author(s):

Werner Menski

Keyword(s):

Public Participation ◽

Constitutional Law ◽

Fine Tuning ◽

Responsible Governance ◽

This review explores why public participation in constitution-making matters for cultivating responsible governance and for fine-tuning justice, focused on immensely rich African evidence within a broader comparative constitutional law context.

Introduction

The People in Question ◽

10.1332/policypress/9781529208894.003.0001 ◽

2020 ◽

pp. 3-34

Author(s):

Jo Shaw

Keyword(s):

Case Studies ◽

Constitutional Law ◽

Interdisciplinary Approach ◽

The People ◽

Key Concepts

This chapter introduces and summarises the whole book, and offers preliminary thoughts on key concepts which underpin the analysis: citizenship, constitution, nationality and ‘the people’. The chapter reflects on methodological inspirations, showing that the approach builds on the traditions of comparative constitutional law, while adopting a broadly socio-legal approach. This interdisciplinary approach owes much to ideas of constitutional ethnography, aiming to suggest themes across different case studies, not explanations for variation.

Taming the Incumbency Advantage: Innovative Constitutional Designs from the "South"

10.31752/idea.2021.87 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Adem Abebe

Keyword(s):

Constitutional Law ◽

Institutional Design ◽

Constitutional Reform ◽

Incumbency Advantage ◽

Discussion Paper ◽

Constitutional Design ◽

The World ◽

Reform Processes ◽

Design Options

This Discussion Paper was drafted for an International IDEA webinar on Taming the Incumbency Advantage (25 May 2021), the first of a series on innovative constitutional design options. It has been revised and updated to reflect contributions from webinar participants: Professor Juvence F. Ramasy (Madagascar), Professor Ridwanul Hoque (Bangladesh) and Professor Gabriel Negretto (Latin America), among others. The webinar series seeks to identify, discuss, profile and showcase the ‘hidden treasures’ of innovative constitutional/institutional design options—including from the Global ‘South’—with potential to help tackle emerging and recurrent challenges facing societies around the world. The goal is not to promote any specific institutional design, but rather to enrich conversations about constitutional reform processes and share comparative constitutional law and practice insights among academic and practitioners’ communities.

Territorial Cleavages and Constitutional Transitions

Territory and Power in Constitutional Transitions ◽

10.1093/oso/9780198836544.003.0020 ◽

2019 ◽

pp. 374-428

Author(s):

George Anderson ◽

Sujit Choudhry

Keyword(s):

Agenda Setting ◽

Central Government ◽

Political Mobilization ◽

The Political ◽

Relative Power ◽

Constitutional Design ◽

Political Actors ◽

Three Stages ◽

Design Options ◽

This chapter explores how patterns of territorial political mobilization influence the processes of Constitution-making and the choices of constitutional design, focusing on seventeen countries that differ significantly in the structure of their politically salient territorial cleavages. The seventeen cases present relatively recent examples of constitutional transitions. The chapter first examines what it calls “constitutional moments” and three contextual variables that shape their structure and dynamics: the political geometry of territorial cleavages, the means to pursue claims for territorial accommodation, and the relative power positions of political actors. The chapter then considers the context and dynamics of constitutional moments, three stages of Constitution-making processes (agenda setting, deliberation, ratification), and three major constitutional design options to respond to claims for territorial accommodation (symmetrical federalism or devolution with a majoritarian central government, highly devolved federalism with a consociational central government, special autonomy for small territories, and a majoritarian central government).

Negotiating Gender Rights and Gender Relations in the Constitutionmaking Process in Egypt: Towards a ‘Thick’ Constitutional Guarantee for Women’s Rights

Al-Raida Journal ◽

10.32380/alrj.v0i0.1725 ◽

1970 ◽

pp. 43-54

Author(s):

Naoko Kuwahara

Keyword(s):

Constitutional Law ◽

Gender Relations ◽

Status Quo ◽

Women's Issues ◽

Japanese Experience ◽

The Status ◽

Gender Perspectives ◽

And Gender ◽

The purpose of this article is to explore gender-sensitive constitution-making. I will examine the constitution-making process in Egypt, as well as the constitutions themselves, from comparative constitutional law and gender perspectives, and I will then include the Japanese experience. Constitutionalizing or legalizing women’s issues is one of the most controversial or challenging legal areas because women’s issues are often assumed to be matters deeply embedded in tradition or culture, and therefore, it has been held that changing the status-quo relating to women’s issues will erode the tradition or culture which should be protected.

Introduction: Comparative Constitutional Law, Gender Equality, and Constitutional Design

Constituting Equality ◽

10.1017/cbo9780511596780.002 ◽

2009 ◽

pp. 1-26 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Susan H. Williams

Keyword(s):

Gender Equality ◽

Constitutional Law ◽

Constitutional Design ◽

Comparative Constitutional Law

Introduction: The C Word

10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198714514.003.0001 ◽

2014 ◽

Author(s):

Hirschl Ran

Keyword(s):

Intellectual History ◽

Constitutional Law ◽

Constitutive Laws ◽

Legal Scholarship ◽

Comparative Aspect ◽

Constitutional Jurisprudence ◽

From its beginnings as a relatively obscure and exotic subject studied by a devoted few, comparative constitutionalism has developed into one of the more fashionable subjects in contemporary legal scholarship, and has become a cornerstone of constitutional jurisprudence and constitution-making in an increasing number of countries worldwide. Despite this tremendous renaissance, the “comparative” aspect of comparative constitutional law, as a method and a project, remains blurry and under-theorized. The introduction sets out the main arguments and structure of the book. The intellectual history and analytical underpinnings of comparative constitutional inquiry are charted and the various types, aims, and methodologies of engagement with the constitutive laws of others through the ages are probed. The introduction also surveys in a nutshell arguments developed in the book as to how and why comparative constitutional inquiry has been, and perhaps ought to be more extensively, pursued by academics and jurists worldwide.