The Story of Constitutions: Discovering the We in Us

Administrative / Constitutional Law › Comparative Law

The Story of Constitutions: Discovering the We in Us

By Wim Voermans
Cambridge University Press November 2023

Specifications

ISBN-13
9781009385046
Publisher
Cambridge University Press
Publication
November 2023
Format
Paperback
Jurisdiction
U.K. ? Countri(es) for reference only

Details

Today, 189 out of 193 officially recognised nation-states have a written constitution, and 75% of these have been ratified since 1975. How did this worldwide diffusion of constitutions come about? In this book, Wim Voermans traces the varied and surprising story of constitutions since the agricultural revolution of c.10,000 B.C. Adopting an interdisciplinary approach, Voermans shows how human evolution, human nature and the history of thought have all played their part in shaping modern constitutions. Constitutions, in turn, have shaped our societies, creating imagined communities of trust and recognition that allow us to successfully co-operate with one another. Engagingly and wittily told, the story of constitutions is vital to understanding our world, our civilisations and, most significantly, ourselves.

Table of Contents

1. Introduction: the century of constitutions

Part I. Constitutional Diffusion:
2. Constitutions everywhere
3. The origin of constitutions

Part II. The History of the Constitution:
4. Precursors
5. Etched into collective memory: ancient constitutions
6. Roman roots
7. Mediaeval constitutions
8. Early-modern constitutions
9. Generations: the first generation of monarchical constitutions
10. Second generation: revolutionary constitutions
11. Third generation: restoration constitutions
12. Fourth generation: liberal constitutions
13. Fifth generation: imperial constitutions
14. Sixth generation: Leviathan constitutions
15. The seventh generation: liberation constitutions
16. The eighth generation: liberal-democratic constitutions
17. What are the lessons of history?

Part III. Concepts, Shapes and Types of Constitutions:
18. What is a constitution?
19. Constitutional kinship

Part IV. Effects:
20. What does a constitution do?
21. The legal meaning of constitutions
22. Economic aspects
23. Political aspects

Part V. The Imagined Order of the Constitution:
24. The constitution's beating heart: emotions
25. The roots of the tree of knowledge
26. Constitutions as vehicles for legitimacy
27. The story of the constitution
28. Appealing to the imagination: constitutional experience
29. Once upon a time... There was the constitution
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