Buddhism and Comparative Constitutional Law

This is the first comprehensive account of Buddhism's complex entanglement with constitutional law, written by experts from across Asia and beyond.

Tom Ginsburg (Edited by), Benjamin Schonthal (Edited by)

9781009286046, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 1 December 2022

300 pages
23.7 x 15.7 x 2.6 cm, 0.73 kg

'This rich and deeply interesting collection provides further evidence that scholars of Buddhism and law are now producing some of the most exciting new scholarship in the law and society field. Even the most skeptical reader will be persuaded that the topics of Buddhism and constitutionalism can indeed be considered in tandem – a fact that was previously far from obvious – and that neither can be understood in Buddhist cultures without taking full account of the other. This book sheds new light on longstanding scholarly assumptions about governance, legitimation, political and social order, and the sacred authority of rulers. It opens up a broad new field for future research that could fundamentally change our understandings of the role of law among the Buddhist peoples of Asia.' David M. Engel, School of Law, State University of New York at Buffalo

Buddhism and Comparative Constitutional Law offers the first comprehensive account of the entanglements of Buddhism and constitutional law in Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam, Tibet, Bhutan, China, Mongolia, Korea, and Japan. Bringing together an interdisciplinary team of experts, the volume offers a complex portrait of “the Buddhist-constitutional complex,” demonstrating the intricate and powerful ways in which Buddhist and constitutional ideas merged, interacted and co-evolved. The authors also highlight the important ways in which Buddhist actors have (re)conceived Western liberal ideals such as constitutionalism, rule of law, and secularism. Available Open Access on Cambridge Core, this trans-disciplinary volume is written to be accessible to a non-specialist audience.

1. Introduction: mapping the Buddhist-constitutional complex in Asia Tom Ginsburg and Benjamin Schonthal
Part I. Religious and Political Underpinnings: 2. Buddhism and constitutionalism in precolonial Southeast Asia D. Christian Lammerts
3. Theorizing constitutionalism in Buddhist-dominant Asian polities Asanga Welikala
Part II. The Himalayas: 4. The Zhabdrung's legacy: Buddhism and constitutional transformation in Bhutan Richard W. Whitecross
5. The 'trick of law': the hermeneutics of Early Buddhist law in Tibet Martin A. Mills
6. Tibetan Buddhist monastic constitutional law and governmental constitutional law: mutual influences? Berthe Jansen
Part III. South and Southeast Asia: 7. Guardians of the law: Sinhala language and Buddhist reformation in post-war Sri Lanka Krishantha Fedricks
8. Thai constitutions as a battle ground for political authority: Barami versus 'vox populi' Khemthong Tonsakulrungruang
9. Establishing the king as the source of the constitution: shifting 'bricolaged' narratives of Buddhist kingship from Siam to Thailand Eugénie Mérieau
10. Buddhist constitutionalism beyond constitutional law: Buddhist statecraft and military ideology in Myanmar Iselin Frydenlund
11. Reconstituting the divided Sangha: Buddhist authority in post-conflict Cambodia Benjamin Lawrence
Part IV. North and Northeast Asia: 12. Constitutional Buddhism: Japanese Buddhists and constitutional law Levi McLaughlin
13. Governing Buddhism in Vietnam Bui Ngoc Son
14. The Buddhist Association of China and constitutional law in Buddhist majority nations: the international channels of influence André Laliberté
15. Governing 'Lamaism' on the 'frontier': Buddhism and law in early twentieth century Inner Mongolia Daigengna Duoer
16. Buddhist constitutional battlegrounds: using the courts to litigate monastic celibacy in South Korea (1955–1970) Mark A. Nathan
Part V. Comparative Perspectives: 17. On the familiar pleasures of estrangement Deepa Das Acevedo
18. Buddhism and constitutionalism: a comparison with the canon law Richard H. Helmholz
19. Islam and constitutional law Clark Lombardi.

Subject Areas: Constitutional & administrative law [LND], Public international law [LBB], Comparative law [LAM], Law [L], Buddhism [HRE]