The Endurance of National Constitutions

The Endurance of National Constitutions
Title The Endurance of National Constitutions PDF eBook
Author Zachary Elkins
Publisher Cambridge University Press
Pages 271
Release 2009-10-12
Genre Law
ISBN 1139479741

Download The Endurance of National Constitutions Book in PDF, Epub and Kindle

Constitutions are supposed to provide an enduring structure for politics. Yet only half live more than nine years. Why is it that some constitutions endure while others do not? In The Endurance of National Constitutions Zachary Elkins, Tom Ginsburg and James Melton examine the causes of constitutional endurance from an institutional perspective. Supported by an original set of cross-national historical data, theirs is the first comprehensive study of constitutional mortality. They show that whereas constitutions are imperilled by social and political crises, certain aspects of a constitution's design can lower the risk of death substantially. Thus, to the extent that endurance is desirable - a question that the authors also subject to scrutiny - the decisions of founders take on added importance.

The Endurance of National Constitutions

The Endurance of National Constitutions
Title The Endurance of National Constitutions PDF eBook
Author Zachary Elkins
Publisher Cambridge University Press
Pages 271
Release 2009-10-19
Genre Law
ISBN 0521515505

Download The Endurance of National Constitutions Book in PDF, Epub and Kindle

Based on original historical data, this book shows that key changes in design can extend constitutional life.

Comparative Constitutions

Comparative Constitutions
Title Comparative Constitutions PDF eBook
Author L.Wolf- Phillips
Publisher Springer
Pages 80
Release 1972-06-18
Genre Political Science
ISBN 1349015296

Download Comparative Constitutions Book in PDF, Epub and Kindle

How to Save a Constitutional Democracy

How to Save a Constitutional Democracy
Title How to Save a Constitutional Democracy PDF eBook
Author Tom Ginsburg
Publisher University of Chicago Press
Pages 306
Release 2018-10-05
Genre Law
ISBN 022656438X

Download How to Save a Constitutional Democracy Book in PDF, Epub and Kindle

Democracies are in danger. Around the world, a rising wave of populist leaders threatens to erode the core structures of democratic self-rule. In the United States, the tenure of Donald Trump has seemed decisive turning point for many. What kind of president intimidates jurors, calls the news media the “enemy of the American people,” and seeks foreign assistance investigating domestic political rivals? Whatever one thinks of President Trump, many think the Constitution will safeguard us from lasting damage. But is that assumption justified? How to Save a Constitutional Democracy mounts an urgent argument that we can no longer afford to be complacent. Drawing on a rich array of other countries’ experiences with democratic backsliding, Tom Ginsburg and Aziz Z. Huq show how constitutional rules can both hinder and hasten the decline of democratic institutions. The checks and balances of the federal government, a robust civil society and media, and individual rights—such as those enshrined in the First Amendment—often fail as bulwarks against democratic decline. The sobering reality for the United States, Ginsburg and Huq contend, is that the Constitution’s design makes democratic erosion more, not less, likely. Its structural rigidity has had unforeseen consequence—leaving the presidency weakly regulated and empowering the Supreme Court conjure up doctrines that ultimately facilitate rather than inhibit rights violations. Even the bright spots in the Constitution—the First Amendment, for example—may have perverse consequences in the hands of a deft communicator who can degrade the public sphere by wielding hateful language banned in many other democracies. We—and the rest of the world—can do better. The authors conclude by laying out practical steps for how laws and constitutional design can play a more positive role in managing the risk of democratic decline.

Comparative Constitutional Design

Comparative Constitutional Design
Title Comparative Constitutional Design PDF eBook
Author Tom Ginsburg
Publisher Cambridge University Press
Pages 407
Release 2012-02-27
Genre Law
ISBN 1107020565

Download Comparative Constitutional Design Book in PDF, Epub and Kindle

Assesses what we know - and do not know - about comparative constitutional design and particular institutional choices concerning executive power and other issues.

Constitutions in Authoritarian Regimes

Constitutions in Authoritarian Regimes
Title Constitutions in Authoritarian Regimes PDF eBook
Author Tom Ginsburg
Publisher Cambridge University Press
Pages 283
Release 2014
Genre Law
ISBN 1107047668

Download Constitutions in Authoritarian Regimes Book in PDF, Epub and Kindle

This volume explores the form and function of constitutions in countries without the fully articulated institutions of limited government.

Keeping Faith with the Constitution

Keeping Faith with the Constitution
Title Keeping Faith with the Constitution PDF eBook
Author Goodwin Liu
Publisher Oxford University Press
Pages 274
Release 2010-08-05
Genre Law
ISBN 0199752834

Download Keeping Faith with the Constitution Book in PDF, Epub and Kindle

Chief Justice John Marshall argued that a constitution "requires that only its great outlines should be marked [and] its important objects designated." Ours is "intended to endure for ages to come, and consequently, to be adapted to the various crises of human affairs." In recent years, Marshall's great truths have been challenged by proponents of originalism and strict construction. Such legal thinkers as Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia argue that the Constitution must be construed and applied as it was when the Framers wrote it. In Keeping Faith with the Constitution, three legal authorities make the case for Marshall's vision. They describe their approach as "constitutional fidelity"--not to how the Framers would have applied the Constitution, but to the text and principles of the Constitution itself. The original understanding of the text is one source of interpretation, but not the only one; to preserve the meaning and authority of the document, to keep it vital, applications of the Constitution must be shaped by precedent, historical experience, practical consequence, and societal change. The authors range across the history of constitutional interpretation to show how this approach has been the source of our greatest advances, from Brown v. Board of Education to the New Deal, from the Miranda decision to the expansion of women's rights. They delve into the complexities of voting rights, the malapportionment of legislative districts, speech freedoms, civil liberties and the War on Terror, and the evolution of checks and balances. The Constitution's framers could never have imagined DNA, global warming, or even women's equality. Yet these and many more realities shape our lives and outlook. Our Constitution will remain vital into our changing future, the authors write, if judges remain true to this rich tradition of adaptation and fidelity.