Comparative Constitutional Design

Catalog description

Consideration of configurations of political institutions apt for democratizing countries, especially those divided by ethnic or religious affiliations. Begins with theories of constitutional and legal change and of efficacy of constitutions as instruments of conflict management, as well as alternative approaches. Specific issues include: electoral systems; federalism and regional devolution; the presidential-parliamentary debate; costs and benefits of judicial review; the special issue of Islam and the state. Extensive discussion of the overarching question of adoptability and emphasis on the relations between processes of constitutional change and the content of the institutions adopted.