Political Constitutionalism

Political Constitutionalism PDF Author: Richard Bellamy
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 1139467913
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 280

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Book Description
Judicial review by constitutional courts is often presented as a necessary supplement to democracy. This book questions its effectiveness and legitimacy. Drawing on the republican tradition, Richard Bellamy argues that the democratic mechanisms of open elections between competing parties and decision-making by majority rule offer superior and sufficient methods for upholding rights and the rule of law. The absence of popular accountability renders judicial review a form of arbitrary rule which lacks the incentive structure democracy provides to ensure rulers treat the ruled with equal concern and respect. Rights based judicial review undermines the constitutionality of democracy. Its counter-majoritarian bias promotes privileged against unprivileged minorities, while its legalism and focus on individual cases distort public debate. Rather than constraining democracy with written constitutions and greater judicial oversight, attention should be paid to improving democratic processes through such measures as reformed electoral systems and enhanced parliamentary scrutiny.

Political Constitutionalism

Political Constitutionalism PDF Author: Richard Bellamy
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 1139467913
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 280

Get Book

Book Description
Judicial review by constitutional courts is often presented as a necessary supplement to democracy. This book questions its effectiveness and legitimacy. Drawing on the republican tradition, Richard Bellamy argues that the democratic mechanisms of open elections between competing parties and decision-making by majority rule offer superior and sufficient methods for upholding rights and the rule of law. The absence of popular accountability renders judicial review a form of arbitrary rule which lacks the incentive structure democracy provides to ensure rulers treat the ruled with equal concern and respect. Rights based judicial review undermines the constitutionality of democracy. Its counter-majoritarian bias promotes privileged against unprivileged minorities, while its legalism and focus on individual cases distort public debate. Rather than constraining democracy with written constitutions and greater judicial oversight, attention should be paid to improving democratic processes through such measures as reformed electoral systems and enhanced parliamentary scrutiny.

The Political Constitution

The Political Constitution PDF Author: Greg Weiner
Publisher: University Press of Kansas
ISBN: 0700628371
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 224

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Book Description
Who should decide what is constitutional? The Supreme Court, of course, both liberal and conservative voices say—but in a bracing critique of the “judicial engagement” that is ascendant on the legal right, Greg Weiner makes a cogent case to the contrary. His book, The Political Constitution, is an eloquent political argument for the restraint of judicial authority and the return of the proper portion of constitutional authority to the people and their elected representatives. What Weiner calls for, in short, is a reconstitution of the political commons upon which a republic stands. At the root of the word “republic” is what Romans called the res publica, or the public thing. And it is precisely this—the sense of a political community engaging in decisions about common things as a coherent whole—that Weiner fears is lost when all constitutional authority is ceded to the judiciary. His book calls instead for a form of republican constitutionalism that rests on an understanding that arguments about constitutional meaning are, ultimately, political arguments. What this requires is an enlargement of the res publica, the space allocated to political conversation and a shared pursuit of common things. Tracing the political and judicial history through which this critical political space has been impoverished, The Political Constitution seeks to recover the sense of political community on which the health of the republic, and the true working meaning of the Constitution, depends.

Quaker Constitutionalism and the Political Thought of John Dickinson

Quaker Constitutionalism and the Political Thought of John Dickinson PDF Author: Jane E. Calvert
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 0521884365
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 399

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Book Description
This book traces the theory of Quaker constitutionalism from the early Quakers through Founding Father John Dickinson to Martin Luther King, Jr.

Against Constitutionalism

Against Constitutionalism PDF Author: Martin Loughlin
Publisher: Harvard University Press
ISBN: 0674276558
Category : Law
Languages : en
Pages : 273

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Book Description
A New Statesman Book of the Year A critical analysis of the transformation of constitutionalism from an increasingly irrelevant theory of limited government into the most influential philosophy of governance in the world today. Constitutionalism is universally commended because it has never been precisely defined. Martin Loughlin argues that it is not some vague amalgam of liberal aspirations but a specific and deeply contentious governing philosophy. An Enlightenment idea that in the nineteenth century became America’s unique contribution to the philosophy of government, constitutionalism was by the mid-twentieth century widely regarded as an anachronism. Advocating separated powers and limited government, it was singularly unsuited to the political challenges of the times. But constitutionalism has since undergone a remarkable transformation, giving the Constitution an unprecedented role in society. Once treated as a practical instrument to regulate government, the Constitution has been raised to the status of civil religion, a symbolic representation of collective unity. Against Constitutionalism explains why this has happened and its far-reaching consequences. Spearheaded by a “rights revolution” that subjects governmental action to comprehensive review through abstract principles, judges acquire greatly enhanced power as oracles of the regime’s “invisible constitution.” Constitutionalism is refashioned as a theory maintaining that governmental authority rests not on collective will but on adherence to abstract standards of “public reason.” And across the world the variable practices of constitutional government have been reshaped by its precepts. Constitutionalism, Loughlin argues, now propagates the widespread belief that social progress is advanced not through politics, electoral majorities, and legislative action, but through innovative judicial interpretation. The rise of constitutionalism, commonly conflated with constitutional democracy, actually contributes to its degradation.

Constitutional Politics in Canada and the United States

Constitutional Politics in Canada and the United States PDF Author: Stephen L. Newman
Publisher: State University of New York Press
ISBN: 0791485846
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 291

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Book Description
Comparative study of American and Canadian constitutionalism, especially rights jurisprudence.

A New Introduction to American Constitutionalism

A New Introduction to American Constitutionalism PDF Author: Mark A. Graber
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0190245239
Category : Law
Languages : en
Pages : 307

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Book Description
A New Introduction to American Constitutionalism is the first text to study the entirety of American constitutionalism, not just the traces that appear in Supreme Court decisions. Mark A. Graber both explores and offers original answers to such central questions as: What is a Constitution, ? What are fundamental constitutional purposes? How are constitutions interpreted? How is constitutional authority allocated? How to constitutions change? How is the Constitution of the United States influenced by international and comparative law? and, most important, How does the Constitution work? Relying on an historical/institutional perspective, the book illustrates how American constitutionalism is a distinct form of politics, rather than a means from separating politics from law. Constitutions work far more by constructing and constituting politics than by compelling people to do what they would otherwise do. People debate the proper meaning of the first amendment, but these debates are influenced by the rule that all states are equally represented in the Senate and a political culture that in which political dissenters do not fear for their lives. More than any other work on the market, A New Introduction to American Constitutionalism highlights and expands on what a generation for law professors, political scientists and historians have said about the American constitutionalism regime. As such, this is the first truly interdisciplinary study of constitutional politics in the United States.

Constitutionalism and Democracy

Constitutionalism and Democracy PDF Author: Richard Bellamy
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 135157115X
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 622

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Book Description
Constitutionalism and democracy have been interpreted as both intimately related and intrinsically opposed. On the one hand constitutions are said to set out the rules of the democratic game, on the other as constraining the power of the demos and their representatives to rule themselves - including by reforming the very processes of democracy itself. Meanwhile, constitutionalists themselves differ on how far any constitution derives its authority from, and should itself be subject to democratic endorsement and interpretation. They also dispute whether constitutions should refer solely to democratic processes, or also define and limit democratic goals. Each of these positions produces a different view of judicial review, the content and advisability of a Bill of Rights and the nature of constitutional politics. These differences are not simply academic positions, but are reflected in the different types of constitutional democracy found in the United States, continental Europe, Britain and many commonwealth countries. The selected essays explore these issues from the perspectives of law, philosophy and political science. A detailed and informative introduction sets them in the context of contemporary debates about constitutionalism.

Constitutionalism and Political Reconstruction

Constitutionalism and Political Reconstruction PDF Author: Saïd Amir Arjomand
Publisher: BRILL
ISBN: 9004151745
Category : Law
Languages : en
Pages : 402

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Book Description
This book offers a unique interdisciplinary comparison of the dominant trends in constitutional developments and legal change across different regions of the world in the last half century, bringing together the constitution-making of the post-colonial era with the post-communist political reconstruction and globalization of constitutionalism.

Buddhism, Politics and the Limits of Law

Buddhism, Politics and the Limits of Law PDF Author: Benjamin Schonthal
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 1107152232
Category : Law
Languages : en
Pages : 319

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Book Description
Examining Sri Lanka's religious and legal pasts, this is the first extended study of Buddhism and constitutional law.

Constitutionalism, Executive Power, and the Spirit of Moderation

Constitutionalism, Executive Power, and the Spirit of Moderation PDF Author: Giorgi Areshidze
Publisher: SUNY Press
ISBN: 1438460414
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 418

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Book Description
Leading scholars and legal practitioners explore constitutional, legal, and philosophical topics. In Constitutionalism, Executive Power, and the Spirit of Moderation, contributors ranging from scholars to practitioners in the federal executive and judicial branches blend philosophical and political modes of analysis to examine a variety of constitutional, legal, and philosophical topics. Part 1, “The Role of Courts in Constitutional Democracy,” analyzes the proper functions and limits of the judiciary and judicial decision making in constitutional government. Part 2, “Law and Executive Authority,” reflects on the tensions between constitutionalism and presidential leadership in both domestic and international arenas. Part 3, “Liberal Education, Constitutionalism, and Philosophic Moderation,” shifts the focus to the relationship between constitutionalism and political philosophy, and especially to the modern modes of philosophy that most directly influenced the American Founders. A valuable resource for specialists, the book also will be of use in political science and law school classes.