Why Constitutions Matter

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Why Constitutions Matter

Author : Nils Karlson
Publisher : Routledge
ISBN 13 : 1351471600
Total Pages : 335 pages
Book Rating : 4.3/5 (514 download)

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Book Synopsis Why Constitutions Matter by : Nils Karlson

Download or read book Why Constitutions Matter written by Nils Karlson and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2017-09-04 with total page 335 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: As countries in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries change from colonialist to independent rule, or from a socialist to a democratic society, the need for a written constitution becomes apparent. Countries in the former Soviet Union, Africa, or nations once part of the British Empire face social, economic, and humanitarian problems as they experiment with democratic rule. Such issues as clearly defining where sovereignty lies, how much power is given to the people, and what rights are possessed by a nation's citizenry are new to these countries. While a constitution, being a man-made document, is subject to interpretation and does not always delineate in a lucid framework its parameters for future generations, it is clear that constitutions do matter.This volume, compiled under the direction of the City University of Stockholm, is an important study on the significance of constitutions and constitutional law in a democratic society. A number of scholars in law, political science, and economics have contributed to this volume. They include: James Buchanan, Aleksander Peczenik, Mats Lundstrom, Joakim Nergelius, Sverker Hard, Niclas Berggren, Peter Kurrild-Klitgaard, Wolfgang Kasper, and Erik Moberg. All add to the understanding of the intertwining roles of politics and the social sciences in a modern democratic state.They explore why a constitution is essential; the relationship between a constitution and a rational political system; the democratic principle of majority rule; why constitutional constraints are needed in a democratic state; recent constitutional reforms in the United Kingdom; the electoral system and its centrality in a democracy; evolution in constitutional change; competition within a federal structure; and the connection between politics and economics. Why Constitutions Matter is a fascinating and timely study of constitutionalism, and will be of interest to students of politics, law, economics, and sociology.

Why the Constitution Matters

Author : Mark Tushnet
Publisher : Yale University Press
ISBN 13 : 0300165358
Total Pages : 144 pages
Book Rating : 4.3/5 (1 download)

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Book Synopsis Why the Constitution Matters by : Mark Tushnet

Download or read book Why the Constitution Matters written by Mark Tushnet and published by Yale University Press. This book was released on 2010-01-01 with total page 144 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A major legal scholar presents an empowering reassessment of our nation’s most essential document In this surprising and highly unconventional work, Harvard law professor Mark Tushnet poses a seemingly simple question that yields a thoroughly unexpected answer. The Constitution matters, he argues, not because it structures our government but because it structures our politics. He maintains that politicians and political parties—not Supreme Court decisions—are the true engines of constitutional change in our system. This message will empower all citizens who use direct political action to define and protect our rights and liberties as Americans. Unlike legal scholars who consider the Constitution only as a blueprint for American democracy, Tushnet focuses on the ways it serves as a framework for political debate. Each branch of government draws substantive inspiration and procedural structure from the Constitution but can effect change only when there is the political will to carry it out. Tushnet’s political understanding of the Constitution therefore does not demand that citizens pore over the specifics of each Supreme Court decision in order to improve our nation. Instead, by providing key facts about Congress, the president, and the nature of the current constitutional regime, his book reveals not only why the Constitution matters to each of us but also, and perhaps more important, how it matters.

How Constitutional Rights Matter

Author : Adam Chilton
Publisher : Oxford University Press, USA
ISBN 13 : 0190871458
Total Pages : 397 pages
Book Rating : 4.1/5 (98 download)

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Book Synopsis How Constitutional Rights Matter by : Adam Chilton

Download or read book How Constitutional Rights Matter written by Adam Chilton and published by Oxford University Press, USA. This book was released on 2020 with total page 397 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Does constitutionalizing rights improve respect for those rights in practice? Drawing on statistical analyses, survey experiments, and case studies from around the world, this book argues that enforcing constitutional rights is not easy, but that some rights are harder to repress than others. First, enshrining rights in constitutions does not automatically ensure that those rights will be respected. For rights to matter, rights violations need to be politically costly. But this is difficult to accomplish for unconnected groups of citizens. Second, some rights are easier to enforce than others, especially those with natural constituencies that can mobilize for their enforcement. This is the case for rights that are practiced by and within organizations, such as the rights to religious freedom, to unionize, and to form political parties. Because religious groups, trade unions and parties are highly organized, they are well-equipped to use the constitution to resist rights violations. As a result, these rights are systematically associated with better practices. By contrast, rights that are practiced on an individual basis, such as free speech or the prohibition of torture, often lack natural constituencies to enforce them, which makes it easier for governments to violate these rights. Third, even highly organized groups armed with the constitution may not be able to stop governments dedicated to rights-repression. When constitutional rights are enforced by dedicated organizations, they are thus best understood as speed bumps that slow down attempts at repression. An important contribution to comparative constitutional law, this book provides a comprehensive picture of the spread of constitutional rights, and their enforcement, around the world.

Why Constitutions Matter

Author : Niclas Berggren
Publisher :
ISBN 13 : 9789175621036
Total Pages : 291 pages
Book Rating : 4.6/5 (21 download)

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Book Synopsis Why Constitutions Matter by : Niclas Berggren

Download or read book Why Constitutions Matter written by Niclas Berggren and published by . This book was released on 2000 with total page 291 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Why the Constitution Matters

Author : Mark V. Tushnet
Publisher :
ISBN 13 : 9780300150360
Total Pages : 187 pages
Book Rating : 4.1/5 (53 download)

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Book Synopsis Why the Constitution Matters by : Mark V. Tushnet

Download or read book Why the Constitution Matters written by Mark V. Tushnet and published by . This book was released on 2010 with total page 187 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In this surprising and highly unconventional work, Harvard law professor Mark Tushnet poses a seemingly simple question that yields a thoroughly unexpected answer. The Constitution matters, he argues, not because it structures our government but because it structures our politics. He maintains that politicians and political parties—not Supreme Court decisions—are the true engines of constitutional change in our system. This message will empower all citizens who use direct political action to define and protect our rights and liberties as Americans. Unlike legal scholars who consider the Constitution only as a blueprint for American democracy, Tushnet focuses on the ways it serves as a framework for political debate. Each branch of government draws substantive inspiration and procedural structure from the Constitution but can effect change only when there is the political will to carry it out. Tushnet’s political understanding of the Constitution therefore does not demand that citizens pore over the specifics of each Supreme Court decision in order to improve our nation. Instead, by providing key facts about Congress, the president, and the nature of the current constitutional regime, his book reveals not only why the Constitution matters to each of us but also, and perhaps more important, how it matters.

51 Imperfect Solutions

Author : Judge Jeffrey S. Sutton
Publisher : Oxford University Press
ISBN 13 : 0190866063
Total Pages : 288 pages
Book Rating : 4.1/5 (98 download)

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Book Synopsis 51 Imperfect Solutions by : Judge Jeffrey S. Sutton

Download or read book 51 Imperfect Solutions written by Judge Jeffrey S. Sutton and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2018-05-07 with total page 288 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: When we think of constitutional law, we invariably think of the United States Supreme Court and the federal court system. Yet much of our constitutional law is not made at the federal level. In 51 Imperfect Solutions, U.S. Court of Appeals Judge Jeffrey S. Sutton argues that American Constitutional Law should account for the role of the state courts and state constitutions, together with the federal courts and the federal constitution, in protecting individual liberties. The book tells four stories that arise in four different areas of constitutional law: equal protection; criminal procedure; privacy; and free speech and free exercise of religion. Traditional accounts of these bedrock debates about the relationship of the individual to the state focus on decisions of the United States Supreme Court. But these explanations tell just part of the story. The book corrects this omission by looking at each issue-and some others as well-through the lens of many constitutions, not one constitution; of many courts, not one court; and of all American judges, not federal or state judges. Taken together, the stories reveal a remarkably complex, nuanced, ever-changing federalist system, one that ought to make lawyers and litigants pause before reflexively assuming that the United States Supreme Court alone has all of the answers to the most vexing constitutional questions. If there is a central conviction of the book, it's that an underappreciation of state constitutional law has hurt state and federal law and has undermined the appropriate balance between state and federal courts in protecting individual liberty. In trying to correct this imbalance, the book also offers several ideas for reform.

Why Law Matters

Author : Alon Harel
Publisher : Oxford University Press (UK)
ISBN 13 : 019964327X
Total Pages : 253 pages
Book Rating : 4.1/5 (996 download)

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Book Synopsis Why Law Matters by : Alon Harel

Download or read book Why Law Matters written by Alon Harel and published by Oxford University Press (UK). This book was released on 2014-04 with total page 253 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Why Law Matters argues that public institutions and legal procedures are valuable and matter as such, irrespective of their instrumental value. Examining the value of rights, public institutions, and constitutional review, the book criticises instrumentalist approaches in political theory, claiming they fail to account for their enduring appeal.

How Constitutional Rights Matter

Author : Adam Chilton
Publisher : Oxford University Press
ISBN 13 : 0190871466
Total Pages : 280 pages
Book Rating : 4.1/5 (98 download)

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Book Synopsis How Constitutional Rights Matter by : Adam Chilton

Download or read book How Constitutional Rights Matter written by Adam Chilton and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2020-06-19 with total page 280 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Does constitutionalizing rights improve respect for those rights in practice? Drawing on statistical analyses, survey experiments, and case studies from around the world, this book argues that enforcing constitutional rights is not easy, but that some rights are harder to repress than others. First, enshrining rights in constitutions does not automatically ensure that those rights will be respected. For rights to matter, rights violations need to be politically costly. But this is difficult to accomplish for unconnected groups of citizens. Second, some rights are easier to enforce than others, especially those with natural constituencies that can mobilize for their enforcement. This is the case for rights that are practiced by and within organizations, such as the rights to religious freedom, to unionize, and to form political parties. Because religious groups, trade unions and parties are highly organized, they are well-equipped to use the constitution to resist rights violations. As a result, these rights are systematically associated with better practices. By contrast, rights that are practiced on an individual basis, such as free speech or the prohibition of torture, often lack natural constituencies to enforce them, which makes it easier for governments to violate these rights. Third, even highly organized groups armed with the constitution may not be able to stop governments dedicated to rights-repression. When constitutional rights are enforced by dedicated organizations, they are thus best understood as speed bumps that slow down attempts at repression. An important contribution to comparative constitutional law, this book provides a comprehensive picture of the spread of constitutional rights, and their enforcement, around the world.

This is Our Constitution

Author : Khizr Khan
Publisher : Knopf Books for Young Readers
ISBN 13 : 1524770914
Total Pages : 226 pages
Book Rating : 4.5/5 (247 download)

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Book Synopsis This is Our Constitution by : Khizr Khan

Download or read book This is Our Constitution written by Khizr Khan and published by Knopf Books for Young Readers. This book was released on 2017 with total page 226 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The author traces his family's experiences immigrating to the U.S. to introduce the Constitution and the Bill of Rights, explaining how it represents America's democratic values and discussing the importance of the documents' history.

How to Read the Constitution—and Why

Author : Kim Wehle
Publisher : HarperCollins
ISBN 13 : 0062896318
Total Pages : 449 pages
Book Rating : 4.0/5 (628 download)

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Book Synopsis How to Read the Constitution—and Why by : Kim Wehle

Download or read book How to Read the Constitution—and Why written by Kim Wehle and published by HarperCollins. This book was released on 2019-06-25 with total page 449 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "A must-read for this era.”—Jake Tapper, CNN Anchor and Chief Washington Correspondent An insightful, urgent, and perennially relevant handbook that lays out in common sense language how the United States Constitution works, and how its protections are eroding before our eyes—essential reading for anyone who wants to understand and parse the constantly breaking news about the backbone of American government. The Constitution is the most significant document in America. But do you fully understand what this valuable document means to you? In How to Read the Constitution--and Why, legal expert and educator Kimberly Wehle spells out in clear, simple, and common sense terms what is in the Constitution, and most importantly, what it means. In compelling terms and including text from the United States Constitution, she describes how the Constitution’s protections are eroding—not only in express terms but by virtue of the many legal and social norms that no longer shore up its legitimacy—and why every American needs to heed to this “red flag” moment in our democracy. This invaluable—and timely—resource includes the Constitution in its entirety and covers nearly every significant aspect of the text, from the powers of the President and how the three branches of government are designed to hold each other accountable, to what it means to have individual rights—including free speech, the right to bear arms, the right to be free from unreasonable searches and seizures, and the right to an abortion. Finally, the book explains why it has never been more important than now for all Americans to know how our Constitution works—and why, if we don’t step in to protect it now, we could lose its protections forever. How to Read the Constitution--and Why is essential reading for anyone who cares about maintaining an accountable government and the individual freedoms that the Constitution enshrines for everyone in America—regardless of political party.

Social and Political Foundations of Constitutions

Author : Denis J. Galligan
Publisher : Cambridge University Press
ISBN 13 : 1107434572
Total Pages : 693 pages
Book Rating : 4.1/5 (74 download)

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Book Synopsis Social and Political Foundations of Constitutions by : Denis J. Galligan

Download or read book Social and Political Foundations of Constitutions written by Denis J. Galligan and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2013-10-14 with total page 693 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This volume analyses the social and political forces that influence constitutions and the process of constitution making. It combines theoretical perspectives on the social and political foundations of constitutions with a range of detailed case studies from nineteen countries. In the first part leading scholars analyse and develop a range of theoretical perspectives, including constitutions as coordination devices, mission statements, contracts, products of domestic power play, transnational documents, and as reflection of the will of the people. In the second part these theories are examined through in-depth case studies of the social and political foundations of constitutions in countries such as Egypt, Nigeria, Japan, Romania, Bulgaria, New Zealand, Israel, Argentina and others. The result is a multidimensional study of constitutions as social phenomena and their interaction with other social phenomena.

Constitutions in Authoritarian Regimes

Author : Tom Ginsburg
Publisher : Cambridge University Press
ISBN 13 : 1107047668
Total Pages : 283 pages
Book Rating : 4.1/5 (7 download)

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Book Synopsis Constitutions in Authoritarian Regimes by : Tom Ginsburg

Download or read book Constitutions in Authoritarian Regimes written by Tom Ginsburg and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2014 with total page 283 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This volume explores the form and function of constitutions in countries without the fully articulated institutions of limited government.

The Gun, the Ship, and the Pen

Author : Linda Colley
Publisher : National Geographic Books
ISBN 13 : 1324092386
Total Pages : 0 pages
Book Rating : 4.3/5 (24 download)

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Book Synopsis The Gun, the Ship, and the Pen by : Linda Colley

Download or read book The Gun, the Ship, and the Pen written by Linda Colley and published by National Geographic Books. This book was released on 2022-09-27 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A work of extraordinary range and striking originality, The Gun, the Ship, and the Pen traces the global history of written constitutions from the 1750s to the twentieth century, modifying accepted narratives and uncovering the close connections between the making of constitutions and the making of war. In the process, Linda Colley both reappraises famous constitutions and recovers those that have been marginalized but were central to the rise of a modern world. She brings to the fore neglected sites, such as Corsica, with its pioneering constitution of 1755, and tiny Pitcairn Island in the Pacific, the first place on the globe permanently to enfranchise women. She highlights the role of unexpected players, such as Catherine the Great of Russia, who was experimenting with constitutional techniques with her enlightened Nakaz decades before the Founding Fathers framed the American constitution. Written constitutions are usually examined in relation to individual states, but Colley focuses on how they crossed boundaries, spreading into six continents by 1918 and aiding the rise of empires as well as nations. She also illumines their place not simply in law and politics but also in wider cultural histories, and their intimate connections with print, literary creativity, and the rise of the novel. Colley shows how—while advancing epic revolutions and enfranchising white males—constitutions frequently served over the long nineteenth century to marginalize indigenous people, exclude women and people of color, and expropriate land. Simultaneously, though, she investigates how these devices were adapted by peoples and activists outside the West seeking to resist European and American power. She describes how Tunisia generated the first modern Islamic constitution in 1861, quickly suppressed, but an influence still on the Arab Spring; how Africanus Horton of Sierra Leone—inspired by the American Civil War—devised plans for self-governing nations in West Africa; and how Japan’s Meiji constitution of 1889 came to compete with Western constitutionalism as a model for Indian, Chinese, and Ottoman nationalists and reformers. Vividly written and handsomely illustrated, The Gun, the Ship, and the Pen is an absorbing work that—with its pageant of formative wars, powerful leaders, visionary lawmakers and committed rebels—retells the story of constitutional government and the evolution of ideas of what it means to be modern.

From Words to Worlds

Author : Beau Breslin
Publisher :
ISBN 13 : 9781421427942
Total Pages : 0 pages
Book Rating : 4.4/5 (279 download)

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Book Synopsis From Words to Worlds by : Beau Breslin

Download or read book From Words to Worlds written by Beau Breslin and published by . This book was released on 2009 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In the 225 years since the United States Constitution was first drafted, no single book has addressed the key questions of what constitutions are designed to do, how they are structured, and why they matter. In From Words to Worlds, constitutional scholar Beau Breslin corrects this glaring oversight, singling out the essential functions that a modern, written constitution must incorporate in order to serve as a nation's fundamental law.Breslin lays out and explains the basic functions of a modern constitution-including creating a new citizenry, structuring the institutions of government, regulating conflict between layers and branches of government, and limiting the power of the sovereign. He also discusses the theoretical concepts behind the fundamentals of written constitutions and examines in depth some of the most important constitutional charters from around the world. In assaying how states put structural ideas into practice, Breslin asks probing questions about why-and if-constitutions matter.Solidly argued and engagingly written, this comparative study in constitutional thought demonstrates clearly the key components that a state's foundational document must address. Breslin draws a critically important distinction between constitutional texts and constitutional practice.

The Living Constitution

Author : David A. Strauss
Publisher : Oxford University Press
ISBN 13 : 0199703698
Total Pages : 171 pages
Book Rating : 4.1/5 (997 download)

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Book Synopsis The Living Constitution by : David A. Strauss

Download or read book The Living Constitution written by David A. Strauss and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2010-05-19 with total page 171 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia once remarked that the theory of an evolving, "living" Constitution effectively "rendered the Constitution useless." He wanted a "dead Constitution," he joked, arguing it must be interpreted as the framers originally understood it. In The Living Constitution, leading constitutional scholar David Strauss forcefully argues against the claims of Scalia, Clarence Thomas, Robert Bork, and other "originalists," explaining in clear, jargon-free English how the Constitution can sensibly evolve, without falling into the anything-goes flexibility caricatured by opponents. The living Constitution is not an out-of-touch liberal theory, Strauss further shows, but a mainstream tradition of American jurisprudence--a common-law approach to the Constitution, rooted in the written document but also based on precedent. Each generation has contributed precedents that guide and confine judicial rulings, yet allow us to meet the demands of today, not force us to follow the commands of the long-dead Founders. Strauss explores how judicial decisions adapted the Constitution's text (and contradicted original intent) to produce some of our most profound accomplishments: the end of racial segregation, the expansion of women's rights, and the freedom of speech. By contrast, originalism suffers from fatal flaws: the impossibility of truly divining original intent, the difficulty of adapting eighteenth-century understandings to the modern world, and the pointlessness of chaining ourselves to decisions made centuries ago. David Strauss is one of our leading authorities on Constitutional law--one with practical knowledge as well, having served as Assistant Solicitor General of the United States and argued eighteen cases before the United States Supreme Court. Now he offers a profound new understanding of how the Constitution can remain vital to life in the twenty-first century.

Democracy and Constitutions

Author : Allan C. Hutchinson
Publisher : University of Toronto Press
ISBN 13 : 1487507933
Total Pages : 220 pages
Book Rating : 4.4/5 (875 download)

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Book Synopsis Democracy and Constitutions by : Allan C. Hutchinson

Download or read book Democracy and Constitutions written by Allan C. Hutchinson and published by University of Toronto Press. This book was released on 2021 with total page 220 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Bold and unconventional, this book advocates for an institutional turn-about in the relationship between democracy and constitutionalism.

Constitutions of Matter

Author : Martin H. Krieger
Publisher : University of Chicago Press
ISBN 13 : 9780226453040
Total Pages : 380 pages
Book Rating : 4.4/5 (53 download)

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Book Synopsis Constitutions of Matter by : Martin H. Krieger

Download or read book Constitutions of Matter written by Martin H. Krieger and published by University of Chicago Press. This book was released on 1996 with total page 380 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Using two tours de force of modern physics as case studies - proofs that ordinary matter is stable, and solutions to the Ising model of a phase transition (how a liquid freezes to a solid, for instance) - Krieger uncovers the philosophical foundations on which the mathematical models of these phenomena are built. In so doing, he gives the reader a better feel not just for how physicists believe the natural world is structured, but also for how they have arrived at those conclusions.