The Veil of Participation: Citizens and Political Parties in Constitution-Making Processes

ISBN-13: 9781108840071 / Angielski / Twarda / 2021 / 280 str.

Alexander Hudson

Opis

Hudson provides new evidence about the roles of political parties, leaders, and citizen-participants in constitution-making processes.

Recenzje

'Direct citizen involvement in the drafting of constitutions is a normative requirement firmly rooted in the democratic principle that only the people can hold ultimate constituent power. It has also become an increasingly common practice encouraged by international agencies that provide constitution-building assistance worldwide. Yet it is unclear what is the real impact that citizen input has on the final content of constitutions. In this path-breaking book, Alexander Hudson shows that public participation is in most cases unlikely to have a significant influence on the final content of constitutions, but that the extent to which citizens can make their input effectual is primarily determined by the strength of the political parties involved in the drafting process. This work has numerous important implications for the study of constitution making and popular participation and should be widely read by political scientists and scholars interested in comparative constitutional law.' Gabriel L. Negretto, Instituto de Ciencia Política, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile

Spis treści

1. Introduction; 2. Theoretical Foundations; 3. South Africa; 4. Brazil; 5. Iceland; 6. Cross-National Analysis; 7. Participation Reconsidered.