Constitution Making during State Building

This book argues that fragmented, divided societies that aren't immediately compatible with centralised statehood can best adjust by emphasising the role of constitution making.

Joanne Wallis (Author)

9781107666658, Cambridge University Press

Paperback / softback, published 4 August 2016

420 pages, 3 maps 2 tables
22.8 x 15.2 x 2.2 cm, 0.61 kg

'One of the signal successes of [Wallis's] book is her thorough and wide-ranging survey of the literature on the topic. Moreover, she draws from the survey an extensive and detailed menu for constitutional planning committees on how best to go about creating a process that includes broad representation and that shows due respect for all segments of the new state.' Jean G. Zorn, Pacific Affairs

How can fragmented, divided societies that are not immediately compatible with centralised statehood best adjust to state structures? This book employs both comparative constitutional law and comparative politics, as it proposes the idea of a 'constituent process', whereby public participation in constitution making plays a positive role in state building. This can help to foster a sense of political community and produce a constitution that enhances the legitimacy and effectiveness of state institutions because a liberal-local hybrid can emerge to balance international liberal practices with local customary ones. This book represents a sustained attempt to examine the role that public participation has played during state building and the consequences it has had for the performance of the state. It is also the first attempt to conduct a detailed empirical study of the role played by the liberal-local-hybrid approach in state building.

Part I. Normative Justification for Participatory Constitution Making: 1. The normative justification
2. A constituent process
Part II. Minimal Participation in Timor-Leste: 3. State building and constitution making in Timor-Leste
4. Constituent power in Timor-Leste
5. Constituted power in Timor-Leste
Part III. Extensive Participation in Bougainville: 6. State building and constitution making in Bougainville
7. Constituent power in Bougainville
8. Constituted power in Bougainville
Part IV. Evidence for and against Participatory Constitution Making: 9. Comparing the constitution-making processes
10. Role in state building.

Subject Areas: Constitutional & administrative law [LND], Law [L], Comparative politics [JPB]