Arab Constitutionalism
The Coming Revolution

An insider's account and analysis of the largest concentration of constitutional reform since the end of the cold war.

Zaid Al-Ali (Author)

9781108453271, Cambridge University Press

Paperback / softback, published 11 May 2023

331 pages
22.9 x 15.2 x 1.8 cm, 0.602 kg

'The core strength of Al-Ali's book is that it draws on constitutional optimism by believing in the formative impact of careful procedural design and reconnecting constitution-making with popular demands and local priorities rather than universal prerogatives. Robert Poll, International Journal of Constitutional Law

After the 2011 uprisings started in Tunisia and swept across the Arab region, more than a dozen countries amended their constitutions, the greatest concentration of constitutional reform processes since the end of the Cold War. This book provides a detailed account and analysis of all of these developments. Individual accounts are provided of eight different reform processes (including Tunisia, Egypt, Libya, Yemen and Sudan), with particular focus on the historical context, the political dynamics, the particular process that each country followed and the substantive outcome. Zaid Al-Ali deconstructs the popular demands that were made in 2011 and translates them into a series of specific actions that would have led to freer societies and a better functioning state. A revolution did not take place in 2011, but it is inevitably part of the region's future and Arab Constitutionalism explores what that revolution could look like.

Introduction
Part I. The Uprising: 1. Tunisia
2. Egypt
3. Yemen
4. Libya
5. Jordan, Morocco, Sudan, Algeria
Part II. Revolution: 6. Purpose
7. The Individual
8. Government
9. Process Design
10. External Assistance.

Subject Areas: Constitutional & administrative law [LND], Comparative law [LAM], Constitution: government & the state [JPHC], Middle Eastern history [HBJF1]