Constituents Before Assembly: Participation, Deliberation, and Representation in the Crafting of New Constitutions
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Description
Under what circumstances do new constitutions improve a nation's level of democracy? Between 1974 and 2014, democracy increased in 77 countries following the adoption of a new constitution, but it decreased or stayed the same in 47 others. This book demonstrates that increased participation in the forming of constitutions positively impacts levels of democracy. It is discovered that the degree of citizen participation at the 'convening stage' of constitution-making has a strong effect on levels of democracy. This finding defies the common theory that levels of democracy result from the content of constitutions, and instead lends support to 'deliberative' theories of democracy.
Publication Date
2017
Publisher
Cambridge University Press
Keywords
Constitutions, Democracy, Citizen Participation, Constitution-Making
Disciplines
Political Science
Recommended Citation
Eisenstadt, Todd A.; LeVan, A Carl; and Maboudi, Tofigh, "Constituents Before Assembly: Participation, Deliberation, and Representation in the Crafting of New Constitutions" (2017). Faculty Books. 137.
https://ecommons.luc.edu/facultybooks/137
