Political Studies Special Issues

1 total work

Constitutionalism in Transformation

by Professor Richard Bellamy and Dario Castiglione

Published 30 September 1996

The manifest shortcomings of totalitarian regimes of left and right has meant that constitutional democracy is now seen as the sole legitimate political system. However, a number of its fundamental principles, such as the sovereignty of the people and the universality of its supporting rights, are now being called into question by the combined effects of international globalization and multi-culturalism. This volume explores a number of aspects of the resulting transformation of constitutions. Particular attention is paid to the impact of recent constitutional debates in West and East Europe, the constitutional implications of the European Union, the continued viability of the American model of political constitution, and the importance of understanding constitutions in institutional, not simply legal normative, terms.