Constituent Assemblies
Comparative constitutional law has a long pedigree, but the comparative study of constitution making has emerged and taken form only in the last quarter-century. While much of the initial impetus came from the study of the American and French constituent assemblies in the late eighteenth century, this volume exemplifies the large comparative scope of current research. The contributors discuss constituent assemblies in South Asia, North Africa and the Middle East, Latin America, and in Nordic countries. Among the new insights they provide is a better understanding of how constituent assemblies may fail, either by not producing a document at all or by adopting a constitution that fails to serve as a neutral framework for ordinary politics. In a theoretical afterword, Jon Elster, one of the inspirators of current interest in the topic, offers an analysis of the micro-foundations of constitution making, with special emphasis on the role of crisis-generated passions.
Jon Elster is Robert K. Merton Professor of Social Science, Department of Political Science at Columbia University. He has authored more than twenty monographs, translated into eighteen languages, and edited or coedited more than twenty other books. He has received nine honorary doctorates from universities on three continents, has been elected member of five scientific academies, and is the 2016 recipient of the Skytte Prize, generally viewed as the most prestigious award in Political Science.
Roberto Gargarella has written and edited more than twenty books, including Latin American Constitutionalism (2013) and The Legal Foundations of Inequality (Cambridge University Press, 2010). He has been awarded a John Guggenheim Foundation grant, a Harry Frank Guggenheim grant, and a Fulbright grant. He has been a visiting professor with universities in Latin America, Europe, and the United States.
Vatsal Naresh is a PhD student in Political Science at Yale University. His research interests lie in democratic theory, political violence, and constitution making.
Bjørn Erik Rasch is Professor of Political Science at the University of Oslo. He has written or edited thirteen books, most recently Parliaments and Government Formation: Unpacking Investiture Rules (2015), and numerous journal articles in comparative politics and political economy.
