Comparative Constitution Making

by David Landau, Hanna Lerner

Overview

Recent years have witnessed an explosion of new research on constitution making. Comparative Constitution Making provides an up-to-date overview of this rapidly expanding field.

Bringing together leading scholars from political science and comparative public law, this handbook presents a broad historical and geographical perspective, exploring debates on constitutionalism across the world. Contributions provide original, innovative research on central issues related to the process and context of constitution making and identify distinctive elements or models of regional constitutionalism.

Insightful and comprehensive, this handbook offers impeccable guidance for students and scholars of constitutional and comparative public law, as well as political science, sociology and history, who are interested in the study of constitution making, democratization and post-conflict reconstruction. Lawyers, civil servants and NGOs in the field of constitutional advising and post-conflict institution building will also benefit from this handbook's unique insight.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781785365256
Publisher:	Edward Elgar Publishing
Publication date:	10/30/2019
Series:	Research Handbooks in Comparative Constitutional Law series
Pages:	624
Product dimensions:	6.62(w) x 9.62(h) x (d)

About the Author

Edited by David Landau, Mason Ladd Professor and Associate Dean for International Programs, Florida State University, College of Law, US and Hanna Lerner, Associate Professor, School of Political Science, Government and International Affairs, Tel Aviv University, Israel

Table of Contents

Contents:

1. Introduction
Hanna Lerner and David Landau

Part I: Foundations
2. Revolutions and Constitution-Making
Andrew Arato

3. Constitution Making and Social Transformation
Heinz Klug

4. International Involvement in Constitution-Making
Cheryl Saunders

5. Constituent Power, Primary Assemblies, and the Imperative Mandate
Joel Colon-Rios

6. Amendment and Revision in the Unmaking of Constitutions
Richard Albert

Part II: Techniques and Processes
7. The Constitutional Referendum in Historical Perspective
Zach Elkins and Alexander Hudson

8. Constitutional Design Deferred
Rosalind Dixon

9. Making Constitutions in Deeply Divided Places
Brendan O'Leary

10. Civil society, participation and the making of Kenya’s constitution
Yash Ghai

11. How Constitutional Crowdsourcing can Enhance Legitimacy in Constitution-Making
Carlos Bernal

Part III: Contexts and Contents
12. Religion and Constitution-Making in Comparative Perspective
Asli Bali and Hanna Lerner

13. Constitution Making and State Building
Joanne Wallis

14. The Making of ‘Illiberal Constitutionalism’ with or without a New Constitution: The Case of Hungary and Poland
Gabor Halmai

15. Constitution Making: The case of ‘Unwritten’ Constitutions
Janet McClean

16. The Making of Constitutional Preambles
Justin Frosini

Part IV: Historical Perspectives
17. Constitutionalism Ancient and Oriental
Patricia Springborg

18. First Constitutions: American Procedural Influence
Lorianne Updike Toler

19. National Identity and Constitutions in Modern Europe: Into the Fifth Zone
Bill Kissane and Nick Sitter

20. Constitution Making and Constitutionalism in Europe
Chris Thornhill

Part V: Regional Perspectives
21. The Unsurprising but Distinctive Nature of Constitution Writing in the Arab World
Nathan Brown

22. Constitution Crafting in South Asia: Lessons on Accommodation and Alienation
Menaka Guruswamy

23. Constitution-making and Public Participation in Southeast Asia
Melissa Crouch

24. Voluntary Infusion of Constitutionalism in Anglophone African Constitutions
Francois Venter

25. Post-Soviet Constitution-Making
Will Partlett

26. Constituent Power and Constitution-Making in Latin America
David Landau

Index

Editorial Reviews

'David Landau and Hanna Lerner, among the most knowledgeable students of constitution making, have gathered a highly qualified group of contributors from around the world to produce an exceptionally wide-ranging and informative volume. Scholars and practitioners will be able to benefit from this remarkable collection for years to come.'
—Donald Horowitz, author of Constitutional Change and Democracy in Indonesia (CUP)

'David Landau and Hanna Lerner have skillfully curated a comprehensive, state-of-the-art collection of essays on the theory and practice, political virtuosity and legal craft of constitution making across time and place. Refreshingly cross-disciplinary in its approach, this volume is an essential read for comparative constitutional scholars, jurists, activists and constitution drafters worldwide.'
—Ran Hirschl, University of Toronto, Canada

'A stellar group of scholars offers a set of superb essays on constitution making. Combining explicitly theoretical contributions and country and regional studies deeply informed by constitutional theory, this book marks a major advance in our understanding of constitution-making around the world.'
—Mark Tushnet, Harvard Law School, US

From the Publisher

‘David Landau and Hanna Lerner, among the most knowledgeable students of constitution making, have gathered a highly qualified group of contributors from around the world to produce an exceptionally wide-ranging and informative volume. Scholars and practitioners will be able to benefit from this remarkable collection for years to come.’

Donald Horowitz

‘A stellar group of scholars offers a set of superb essays on constitution making. Combining explicitly theoretical contributions and country and regional studies deeply informed by constitutional theory, this book marks a major advance in our understanding of constitution-making around the world.’

Mark Tushnet

‘David Landau and Hanna Lerner have skillfully curated a comprehensive, state-of-the-art collection of essays on the theory and practice, political virtuosity and legal craft of constitution making across time and place. Refreshingly cross-disciplinary in its approach, this volume is an essential read for comparative constitutional scholars, jurists, activists and constitution drafters worldwide.’

Ran Hirschl