Activism and Popular Constitutionalism in Contemporary Vietnam

2017 ◽  
Vol 42 (03) ◽  
pp. 677-710 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bui Son ◽  
Pip Nicholson
Keyword(s):  
Political Science ◽  
Constitutional Reform ◽  
Law And Society ◽  
Constitutional Amendment ◽  
The Political ◽  
Constitutional Change ◽  
History Of ◽  
Constitutional Analysis ◽  
Popular Constitutionalism

Based on Chinese constitutional analysis, political science, and law and society studies, we argue that work extending the application of popular constitutionalism to authoritarian states applies in Vietnam, as popular constitutionalism targets sites relevant to constitutional reform. We contend that popular constitutionalism located in authoritarian states requires three factors: a tradition of activism, space for reformist and pragmatic dialogue targeting constitutional change, and the political need for legitimacy. This article analyses activism in Vietnam, focusing on the lodging of Petition 72 with the Constitutional Amendment Drafting Commission in 2013, and the resulting responses. We conclude that this activism was pivotal in advocating for new constitutional norms, evidencing popular constitutionalism in Vietnam. The long history of Vietnamese scholar activism, the relative space for governance debates, and the political need for legitimacy made this possible. We also note that popular constitutionalism faces constraints in authoritarian states, which may shape its trajectory.

Part II Institutions and Constitutional Change, D Constitutional Amendment, Ch.12 Amending the Constitution of Canada

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pelletier Benoît
Keyword(s):  
Constitutional Reform ◽  
Wishful Thinking ◽  
Constitutional Amendment ◽  
The Political ◽  
Constitutional Change ◽  
The Past ◽  
Canadian Population ◽  
History Of ◽  
Legal Frameworks

In the past, Canadian constitutional reform has been marked by surprising successes and resounding failures. Indeed, the failures were such that constitutional amendment itself, along with the word “Constitution”, became taboo in the eyes of a large part of the Canadian population. This chapter will commence with a brief history of constitutional reform in Canada from the Constitution Act, 1867 to the patriation of 1982, followed by an analysis of the post-patriation constitutional amendment procedures. It will then discuss the political and legal frameworks which further complicate the already strict requirements of modern constitutional amendment in Canada, and will conclude with an overview of the phenomena favouring paraconstitutional adaptation of the Constitution. Finally, it will point out that the full restoration of the word “Constitution” is of utmost importance in ensuring that constitutional reform itself does not simply become a matter of wishful thinking.

The tenure of English judges

1913 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 217-229 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. H. McIlwain
Keyword(s):  
Supreme Court ◽  
Political Science ◽  
Theory And Practice ◽  
The Political ◽  
The Supreme Court ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Subject ◽  
General Object ◽  
William Iii ◽  
Science Association

At the meeting of the Political Science Association last year, in the general discussion, on the subject of the recall, I was surprised and I must admit, a little shocked to hear our recall of judges compared to the English removal of judges on address of the houses of parliament.If we must compare unlike things, rather than place the recall beside the theory or the practice of the joint address, I should even prefer to compare it to a bill of attainder.In history, theory and practice the recall as we have it and the English removal by joint address have hardly anything in common, save the same general object.Though I may not (as I do not) believe in the recall of judges, this paper concerns itself not at all with that opinion, but only with the history and nature of the tenure of English judges, particularly as affected by the possibility of removal on address. I believe a study of that history will show that any attempt to force the address into a close resemblance to the recall, whether for the purpose of furthering or of discrediting the latter, is utterly misleading.In the history of the tenure of English judges the act of 12 and 13 William III, subsequently known as the Act of Settlement, is the greatest landmark. The history of the tenure naturally divides into two parts at the year 1711. In dealing with both parts, for the sake of brevity, I shall confine myself strictly to the judges who compose what since 1873 has been known as the supreme court of judicature.

The Case for Repealing the Second Amendment? The Historical Barriers to Constitutional Change

2021 ◽  
Vol 51 (4) ◽  
pp. 595-607
Author(s):  
David T. Konig
Keyword(s):  
Constitutional Law ◽  
Theory And Practice ◽  
The Political ◽  
Constitutional Change ◽  
Second Amendment ◽  
The People ◽  
The Right ◽  
The U.S ◽  
Popular Constitutionalism

The controversy surrounding the Second Amendment—“the right of the people to keep and bear arms”—is, to a large extent, historical in nature, redolent of other matters in this country’s legal and constitutional past. But the historical analogies that might support the Amendment’s repeal do not permit easy conclusions. The issue demands that legal historians venture beyond familiar territory to confront unavoidable problems at the intersection of theory and practice and of constitutional law and popular constitutionalism. An interdisciplinary analysis of Lichtman’s Repeal the Second Amendment illuminates the political, legal, and constitutional dimensions—as well as the perils—of undertaking the arduous amending process permitted by Article V of the U.S. Constitution.

Theories of Power, Poverty, and Law: In Commemoration of the Contributions of Peter Bachrach

2010 ◽  
Vol 43 (01) ◽  
pp. 83-85
Author(s):  
Judith A. Baer
Keyword(s):  
Twentieth Century ◽  
Political Science ◽  
Annual Meeting ◽  
Legal Theory ◽  
Family Members ◽  
The Political ◽  
History Of

A while ago we lost Peter Bachrach, one of the pre-eminent academic figures of the twentieth century. After he died on December 14, 2007, a group of his former students and colleagues gathered at the APSA annual meeting in Boston to celebrate his life and career. The audience included family members, “academic grandchildren,” and admirers of his work. The speakers' themes included power, poverty, activism, legal theory, and equality, and this symposium grew out of the panel. This range and variety of topics indicate the scope and depth of his impact. His 1962APSRarticle, “Two Faces of Power,” co-authored with Morton Baratz, is the most frequently cited article in the history of the political science profession. Although I suspect this distinction would have amused Peter, terms likefaces of power,nondecision, anddeciding not to decideare familiar even to those who don't know Bachrach and Baratz's work on power (Bachrach and Baratz 1962, 1963). These writings taught scholars to listen for what is not said and look for what is not shown. That was a crucial lesson for feminist legal scholars like my classmate and fellow panelist, Elizabeth Schneider, and me.

Cartes may win re-election wrangle in Paraguay

2017 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Constitutional Amendment ◽  
The Political ◽  
Constitutional Change ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Political Dialogue ◽  
Lower House ◽  
Dialogue Process

Significance Efrain Alegre, president of the opposition Partido Liberal Radical Autentico (PLRA), did not attend the three-hour meeting, which agreed that the constitutional amendment allowing for presidential re-election would not be voted on in the Lower House until the negotiations conclude. It also agreed that the political dialogue would be reconvened on April 7, when former President Fernando Lugo was expected to attend. However, hours after the meeting ended, opposition politicians led by Senate President Roberto Acevedo said that they were withdrawing from the dialogue process until Cartes abandoned the planned amendment. Impacts Further protests are likely as Cartes presses ahead with the re-election amendment. The president will benefit from deep opposition divisions. Constitutional change would erode the intended brakes on presidential longevity and authoritarianism.

Amending the constitution

Legal Studies ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 36 (1) ◽  
pp. 75-92
Author(s):  
Ian Cram
Keyword(s):  
Informed Consent ◽  
Constitutional Reform ◽  
Constitutional Amendment ◽  
Constitutional Change ◽  
Civic Society ◽  
The People ◽  
The Face ◽  
Managed Change ◽  
Scottish Independence ◽  
The Uk

How easy ought it to be to enact constitutional amendment? In the absence of constitutionally prescribed procedures, fundamental reforms in the UK can often appear hurried, under-consultative and controlled by transient political majorities. In the recent referendum on Scottish independence, the NO campaign's promise of additional powers to Holyrood in the face of a possible ‘Yes’ vote appears to fit this pattern (even if, for reasons of political sensitivity, it was not driven directly by members of the Coalition government). A recent sample of concluded constitutional reforms, including the Constitutional Reform Act 2005, the Constitutional Reform and Governance Act 2010 and the Fixed-term Parliaments Act 2011, have drawn criticism from within Westminster on the grounds of defective process. Specific options to improve pre-parliamentary and parliamentary stages of constitutional reform have been proposed with a view to attaining principled procedures of constitutional reform removed from executive control that signal attachment to process values such as wide and effective consultation, deliberation outside and inside Parliament, and informed scrutiny. The foregoing prescriptions for remedying defective processes may, however, be said in the ultimate analysis to retain a normative preference for a more formal, elite-managed vision of constitutional change that is premised upon a limited conception of the citizens' ‘informed consent’. In any case, in purely descriptive terms, top-down managed change does not capture the totality of patterns of past constitutional reform in the UK. In the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, for example, radical grassroots campaigns for the extension of the franchise resulted ultimately in universal adult suffrage. More recently, the Scotland Act 1998 can be seen as the culmination of a civic society–led, deliberative engagement with ordinary voters over decades that offered an alternative vision of ‘bottom-up’ constitutional reform to that seen in more formal, elite-led processes of constitutional reform. The inclusive and participatory nature of the campaign for Scottish devolution marked out a radically different model of constitutional reform to that which has typified Westminster-style amendment and which is still largely directed by political elites. In such circumstances as prevail currently at Westminster, it is difficult to give much credence to claims that the outcomes of constitutional reform processes enjoy the ‘informed consent’ of the people.

‘Hands off my constitution’: Constitutional reform and the workings of democracy in Mali

2015 ◽  
Vol 53 (3) ◽  
pp. 451-475 ◽  
Author(s):  
Susanna D. Wing
Keyword(s):  
Constitutional Reform ◽  
Recent History ◽  
Military Coup ◽  
The Political ◽  
History Of ◽  
Political Divide

ABSTRACTConstitutions in Africa are often considered fragile. Mali is an example of both constitutional crisis and constitutional durability. While Mali was upheld as a democratic model, the 2012 military coup might lead one to argue that Mali's recent history reflects constitutional weakness. However, the swift reinstatement of the constitution, popular commitment to its preservation, and attempts to pursue the post-coup transition in a constitutional manner all illustrate the domestic and international legitimacy of Mali's 1992 constitution. This article analyses the process of the proposed Malian constitutional referendum that, though constitutional in itself, contributed to the March 2012 overthrow of President Touré. It argues that the history of participatory constitutionalism in Mali contributed to the movement against the referendum. Constitutional reform is a necessity for an enduring constitution and this article sheds light on constitutional reform in states with weak legislatures, and illustrates the process of reform and the political divide that surrounded it in Mali. It provides a unique analysis of the crisis in Mali while at the same time making a contribution to our understanding of constitutionalism and constitutional reform in Africa.

Reviews: The Study of Government: Political Science and Public Administration, The Psychology of Politics, The Politics of Communication: A Study in the Political Sociology of Language, Socialization and Legitimation, The Structure of Social Science: A Philosophical Introduction, Political Learning, Political Choice and Democratic Citizenship, The Political Character of Adolescence: The Influence of Families and Schools, Mathematical Approaches to Politics, Funktionsanalyse Und Politische Theorie, The Collected Works of Walter Bagehot. Vols. V–VIII the Political Essays, The Conservative Nation, The House of Commons: Services and Facilities, Marketing Boards and Ministers: A Study of Agricultural Marketing Boards as Political and Administrative Instruments, Studies in Social Science and Planning, Politics by Pressure, The Problem of Party Government, Modern Social Politics in Britain and Sweden: From Relief to Income Maintenance, Comparative Revolutionary Movements, Mass Political Violence: A Cross-National Causal Analysis, The Communists in Spain, Amicable Agreement versus Majority Rule, Uncertain Passage—China's Transition to the Post-Mao Era, Soviet Politics and Political Science, Malaysia—New States in a New Nation, General Elections in South Africa 1943–1970, Fascism in Italy: Society and Culture 1922–1945, The History of the Nazi Party: Volume II, 1933–1945, The Aryan Myth: A History of Racist and Nationalist Ideas in Europe, Europe in Question, The Defence of Western Europe, Bureaucratic Politics and Foreign Policy, The Foreign Policies of the Powers, Survey of Commonwealth Affairs. Problems of Expansion and Attrition 1953–1969, Testing Theories of Economic Imperialism, Daughter of a Revolutionary: Natalie Herzen and the Bakunin-Nechayev Circle, Bukharin and the Bolshevik Revolution. A Political Biography, 1888–1938, The Liberal Theory of Justice: A Critical Examination of the Principal Doctrines in A Theory of Justice, Contemporary Thought and Politics, The Essex Reference Index: British Journals on Politics and Sociology. 1950–1973

1975 ◽  
Vol 23 (4) ◽  
pp. 514-571
Author(s):  
R. G. S. Brown ◽  
H. J. Eysenck ◽  
B. G. Stacey ◽  
Alan Ryan ◽  
Shawn W. Rosenberg ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Social Science ◽  
Political Science ◽  
Political Violence ◽  
Democratic Citizenship ◽  
Critical Examination ◽  
The Political ◽  
Nazi Party ◽  
Theory Of Justice ◽  
History Of ◽  
New Nation

scholarly journals The Issue of the Legitimacy of Modern Constitutional Reform

2020 ◽  
Vol 20 (4) ◽  
pp. 449-458
Author(s):  
Elena A. Abaeva ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Russian Federation ◽  
Political Stability ◽  
Constitutional Reform ◽  
The Political ◽  
Presidential Power ◽  
Legal Form ◽  
Theoretical Understanding ◽  
Basic Law ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Russian Federation

Introduction. The reform of the Basic Law throughout the modern history of Russia has been determined by the political expediency of transforming the presidential power. Until the mid-2000s the constitutional inviolability supported by the authorities was aimed at preserving its political stability. Theoretical analysis. The Russian Federation has entered a new stage of constitutional development, due to the need for constitutionalization – giving a legitimate character to the prevailing presidential power. Any constitutional reform requires a theoretical understanding of its legitimacy, expediency, legality. Empirical analysis. The main factor in modern constitutional reform is the need for constitutionalization of presidential power. Results. The introduction of additional procedures for the adoption of an amendment to the Constitution testifies to the political will of the President of the Russian Federation to enlist the support of active participants in constitutional processes, thereby putting the ongoing constitutional reform in a legitimate and legal form.

Disaffection, Disinformation, and Democracy

2021 ◽  
pp. 173-188
Author(s):  
Scott Radnitz
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Political Science ◽  
The United States ◽  
The Political ◽  
Popular Belief ◽  
Conspiracy Theories ◽  
Recent Developments ◽  
History Of ◽  
Near Abroad

This chapter reviews the main findings of the book and then shifts the focus beyond the post-Soviet region. It first discusses what the argument contributes to ongoing debates in political science about how regimes spread and manipulate information. It then considers the evolution of conspiracism in two imperfect democracies: Turkey, which bears a surface resemblance to cases covered in this book, and then the United States, a country with a venerable history of popular belief in conspiracy theories. Despite being a well-established democracy, recent developments indicate that conspiracy claims have moved fully into the political mainstream. It then discusses the implications of Russia’s export of conspiracy theories, a practice initially intended to influence opinion in the near abroad but then expanded globally. Finally, it considers the implications of this book’s arguments for democracy and governance today.

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