Constitution-making and Reform
Author: Michele Brandt
Publisher:
Published: 2011
Total Pages: 369
ISBN-13: 9782839908719
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Framing the State in Times of Transition
Author: Laurel E. Miller
Publisher: US Institute of Peace Press
Published: 2010
Total Pages: 737
ISBN-13: 1601270550
DOWNLOAD EBOOKAnalyzing nineteen cases, this title offers practical perspective on the implications of constitution-making procedure, and explores emerging international legal norms.
Constitution Making
Author: Sujit Choudhry
Publisher: Edward Elgar Publishing
Published: 2016
Total Pages: 0
ISBN-13: 9781783472956
DOWNLOAD EBOOKConstitution making is a topic of increasing scholarly and practical interest. Focusing on a set of important case studies, yet also featuring classic articles on the subject, this volume is a critical assembly of theoretical literature. Ensuring wide geographic and historical coverage, and including an original introduction by the editors, this collection provides an essential overview of the myriad of circumstances in which constitutions can be made.
Constitutional Processes and Democratic Commitment
Author: Donald L. Horowitz
Publisher: Yale University Press
Published: 2021-01-01
Total Pages: 284
ISBN-13: 0300254369
DOWNLOAD EBOOKFrom one of our leading scholars of comparative constitutionalism, advice for everyone involved in the surprisingly common practice of constitution-writing Enhancing prospects for democracy is an important objective in the process of creating a new constitution. Donald L. Horowitz argues that constitutional processes ought to be geared to securing commitment to democracy by those who participate in them. Using evidence from numerous constitutional processes, he makes a strong case for a process intended to increase the likelihood of a democratic outcome. He also assesses tradeoffs among various process attributes and identifies some that might impede democratic outcomes. This book provides a fresh perspective on constitutional processes that will interest students and scholars. It also offers sound advice for everyone involved in the surprisingly common practice of constitution‑writing.
A More Perfect Constitution
Author: Larry J. Sabato
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing USA
Published: 2010-07-23
Total Pages: 353
ISBN-13: 0802777562
DOWNLOAD EBOOK"The reader can't help but hold out hope that maybe someday, some of these sweeping changes could actually bring the nation's government out of its intellectual quagmire...his lively, conversational tone and compelling examples make the reader a more than willing student for this updated civics lesson." --The Hill The political book of the year, from the acclaimed founder and director of the Center for politics at the University of Virginia. A More Perfect Constitution presents creative and dynamic proposals from one of the most visionary and fertile political minds of our time to reinvigorate our Constitution and American governance at a time when such change is urgently needed, given the growing dysfunction and unfairness of our political system . Combining idealism and pragmatism, and with full respect for the original document, Larry Sabato's thought-provoking ideas range from the length of the president's term in office and the number and terms of Supreme Court justices to the vagaries of the antiquated Electoral College, and a compelling call for universal national service-all laced through with the history behind each proposal and the potential impact on the lives of ordinary people. Aware that such changes won't happen easily, but that the original Framers fully expected the Constitution to be regularly revised, Sabato urges us to engage in the debate and discussion his ideas will surely engender. During an election year, no book is more relevant or significant than this.
The People’s Constitution
Author: John F. Kowal
Publisher: The New Press
Published: 2021-09-21
Total Pages: 493
ISBN-13: 1620975629
DOWNLOAD EBOOKThe 233-year story of how the American people have taken an imperfect constitution—the product of compromises and an artifact of its time—and made it more democratic Who wrote the Constitution? That’s obvious, we think: fifty-five men in Philadelphia in 1787. But much of the Constitution was actually written later, in a series of twenty-seven amendments enacted over the course of two centuries. The real history of the Constitution is the astonishing story of how subsequent generations have reshaped our founding document amid some of the most colorful, contested, and controversial battles in American political life. It’s a story of how We the People have improved our government’s structure and expanded the scope of our democracy during eras of transformational social change. The People’s Constitution is an elegant, sobering, and masterly account of the evolution of American democracy. From the addition of the Bill of Rights, a promise made to save the Constitution from near certain defeat, to the post–Civil War battle over the Fourteenth Amendment, from the rise and fall of the “noble experiment” of Prohibition to the defeat and resurgence of an Equal Rights Amendment a century in the making, The People’s Constitution is the first book of its kind: a vital guide to America’s national charter, and an alternative history of the continuing struggle to realize the Framers’ promise of a more perfect union.
Making a New American Constitution
Author: George William Van Cleve
Publisher:
Published: 2020-09-20
Total Pages:
ISBN-13: 9781735548906
DOWNLOAD EBOOKThis is a book about constitutional reform. Today the Constitution is a dangerous threat to Abraham Lincoln's vision of government of the people, by the people, and for the people. It served the United States well during its early years, but has numerous remarkably undemocratic features. And the Constitution has an even graver overarching flaw. It is preventing us from making reforms needed to address the collapse of the middle class and to renew our rapidly decaying social bonds. The Constitution is a massive obstruction to national unity and to our country's survival.Today we are a multicultural, racially diverse, heavily urbanized society. And we are now in danger of being governed permanently by a wealthy oligarchy. Our middle class is headed toward collapse, and our democracy cannot survive its demise. Steadily deteriorating socioeconomic conditions facing millions of poor and middle-class Americans are almost certain to result in a political crisis that may weaken or shatter our union.To avoid such a catastrophe, it will be essential for us to make extensive political, social, and economic reforms based on constitutional changes that will enable all Americans to view their government as truly fair and firmly committed to creating equal life opportunities and justice for everyone, not just for one elite class or dominant race. This book explains why the Constitution is a major obstacle to reform, and what we will need to do to create a resilient democracy. It takes a deep look at the Constitution's undemocratic features, and then explores why the Constitution also makes unworkable piecemeal reforms, such as a constitutional amendment to take money out of politics or a balanced budget amendment. The time to change our government has come. Americans can and must hold a popular convention that can achieve a constitutional grand bargain resolving divisive issues, which will renew republican government and avoid permanent authoritarian rule by a wealthy oligarchy. The book explores how a popular convention can be held, and proposes a series of essential constitutional reforms.
Constitutions in Authoritarian Regimes
Author: Tom Ginsburg
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Published: 2014
Total Pages: 283
ISBN-13: 1107047668
DOWNLOAD EBOOKThis volume explores the form and function of constitutions in countries without the fully articulated institutions of limited government.
Democratic Constitution Making
Author: Vivien Hart
Publisher:
Published: 2003
Total Pages: 12
ISBN-13:
DOWNLOAD EBOOKOur Undemocratic Constitution
Author: Sanford Levinson
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Published: 2008
Total Pages: 260
ISBN-13: 0195365577
DOWNLOAD EBOOKLevinson here argues that too many of our Constitution's provisions promote either unjust or ineffective government. Under the existing blueprint, we can neither rid ourselves of incompetent presidents nor assure continuity of government following catastrophic attacks. Worse, our Constitution is the most difficult to amend or update in the world. Levinson boldly challenges the Americans to undertake a long overdue public discussion on how they might best reform this most hallowed document and construct a constitution adequate to our democratic values.
