In a series of exchanges with James Madison, Thomas Jefferson argued that constitutions should be rewritten every generation, declaring famously the "dead not govern living." derided those who "look at sanctimonious reverence, and deem them like arc covenant, too sacred to touched." He even proposed an expiration date – one nineteen years, figure he came from studying set actuarial tables. having only recently shepherded U.S. document through sometimes contentious deliberation ratification...

There is a new empirical turn in international legal scholarship. Building on decades of theoretical work law and social science, generation studies elaborating how works different contexts. The debate over whether matters stale one. What now the study conditions under which formed has effects. International product specific forces factors; it accomplishes its ends particular conditions. trend toward expanded through efforts scholars multiple disciplines, with playing central roles...

Constitution-making is a ubiquitous but poorly understood phenomenon. There much speculation relatively little evidence about the impact of different design processes on constitutional outcomes. Much debate reduces to question who involved in process and when. We consider two central issues this regard. The first problem institutional self-dealing, or whether governmental organs that have something gain from outcome should be process. second has do with merits public involvement Both these...

Is the United States at risk of democratic backsliding? And would Constitution prevent such decay? To many, 2016 election campaign may be immediate catalyst for these questions. But it is structural changes to socio-economic environment and geopolitical shifts that make question a truly pressing one. This Article develops taxonomy different threats backsliding, mechanisms whereby they unfold, comparative each threat in contemporary moment. By drawing on law politics experience, we...

Abstract The relationship between de jure and facto judicial independence is much debated in the literature on politics. Some studies find no formal rules governing structure of judiciary independence, while others a tight correlation. This article sets out to reassess using new theory an expanded data set. De institutional protections, we argue, do not work isolation but conjunctively, so that particular combinations protections are more likely be effective than others. We selection removal...

Constitutions in authoritarian regimes are often denigrated as meaningless exercises political theater. Yet the burgeoning literature on more broadly has produced a wealth of insights into particular institutions such legislatures, courts and elections; regime practices co-optation repression; non-democratic sources accountability. In this vein, introduction to new edited volume explores form function constitutions countries without fully articulated limited government. The chapters book...

This Article uses comparative evidence to inform the ongoing debate about selection and discipline of judges. In recent decades, many countries around world have created judicial councils, institutions designed maintain an appropriate balance between independence accountability. Our has two aims. First, we provide a theory formation councils identify some dimensions along which they differ. Second, test extent different designs council affect quality. We find that there is little...

We like to think that constitutions are expressions of distinctly national values, speaking for "We the People." This is especially true constitutional preambles, which often recount distinct events from history and speak values. article challenges this popular view by demonstrating global influences on preambles. It does so using a new set tools in linguistic textual analysis, applied database most preambles written since 1789. Arguing legal language can be analogized memes or genetic...

The presidential-parliamentary distinction is foundational to comparative politics and at the center of a large theoretical empirical literature. However, an examination constitutional texts suggests fair degree heterogeneity within these categories with respect important institutional attributes. These observations indicate that classic distinction, semi-presidential category, may not be systemic. This article investigates whether defining attributes separate presidential parliamentary...

On December 17 2010, a young Tunisian street vendor protesting an abusive police official set off wave of democratic uprisings throughout the Arab world. In rising up against their governments, peoples Spring were confronting age-old problem in political theory: when is it acceptable to rise unjust authority? This question not only great importance Middle East today, but was also profound interest American founders and, through them, has informed very basis modern constitutionalism. It...

It is often asserted that the United States' Constitution world's most difficult to amend. But how do we really know this? This paper unpacks tricky methodological issues in measuring flexibility cross-nationally. We find various metrics of amendment difficulty offered literature are poorly correlated, suggesting potential validity problems. illustrates a general challenge institutional accounts constitutional behavior. Institutions surely matter, but explanations are, like all explanations,...

The political origins of various civil and rights have been clearly theorized by Tom Ginsburg others in work on the "insurance-based" function judicial review new democracies. To date, however, there has relatively little socioeconomic or second generation rights, such as to housing health-care. essay attempts fill this gap, expanding existing insurance-based theories account for potential insurance swap-based left-wing parties constitutional negotiations, when making concessions scope a...

The rule of law era has given rise to multiple indicators purporting measure the concept. This article compares four major and shows that their approaches conceptualization measurement differ. Given disparate conceptualizations strategies, one might expect a weak correlation between them. Strikingly, however, all are highly correlated with each other (with pair-wise correlations three them exceeding 0.95). They also widely used corruption. suggests capture more encompassing concept, like...

Abstract International law, though formally neutral among regime types, has mainly been a product of liberal democracies since World War II. In light recent challenges to the international order, this Article asks, what would law look like in an increasingly authoritarian world? As compared with democratic countries, authoritarians emphasize looser cooperation, negotiated settlements, and rules that reinforce survival. This raises possibility designed extend rule across time space.

In the last 25 years, constitutional courts have been major players in governance of Central and Eastern Europe, were arguably most important defenders rule law region. Yet few years exposed institutional fragility face illiberal democracy, as several countries moved to pack courts. Without quick sustained pressure, dismantling hard fought freedoms associated with will succeed, we again speak an Europe that is closer Russia than West.