The Endurance of National Constitutions

Based on original historical data, this book shows that key changes in design can extend constitutional life.

Zachary Elkins (Author), Tom Ginsburg (Author), James Melton (Author)

9780521731324, Cambridge University Press

Paperback, published 12 October 2009

272 pages, 20 b/w illus. 8 tables
22.9 x 15.2 x 1.5 cm, 0.39 kg

"[The authors] pose important questions of broad interest, and their findings, for all their tentativeness, are striking and will be of interest to the many communities of scholars (and the army of international experts and consultants) interested in constitution drafting. Readers who find data analysis deadening will be kept alert by a lively writing style."
Perspectives on Politics, Nathan J. Brown, George Washington University

Constitutions are supposed to provide an enduring structure for politics. Yet only half live more than nine years. Why is it that some constitutions endure while others do not? In The Endurance of National Constitutions Zachary Elkins, Tom Ginsburg and James Melton examine the causes of constitutional endurance from an institutional perspective. Supported by an original set of cross-national historical data, theirs is the first comprehensive study of constitutional mortality. They show that whereas constitutions are imperilled by social and political crises, certain aspects of a constitution's design can lower the risk of death substantially. Thus, to the extent that endurance is desirable - a question that the authors also subject to scrutiny - the decisions of founders take on added importance.

1. Introduction
2. How long should constitutions endure?
3. Conceptualizing constitutions
4. A positive theory of constitutional endurance
5. Empirical implications of the theory: identifying risks to constitutional life
6. An epidemiological analysis of constitutional mortality
7. Contrasts in constitutional endurance
8. Contexts of chronic failure
9. Conclusion.

Subject Areas: Comparative law [LAM], Comparative politics [JPB], Politics & government [JP]