Constitutional Heads and Political Crises

Constitutional Heads and Political Crises
Author: D. A. Low
Publisher: Springer
Total Pages: 253
Release: 1988-06-18
Genre: History
ISBN: 1349101974

A selection of essays about the constitutional crises throughout the Commonwealth since the Second World War, from Australia, Ceylon, Pakistan, Nigeria, Fiji, India, Grenada, Malaysia and Canada, which examines, in particular, the role and involvement of the Governor-General.

Constitutional Democracy in Crisis?

Constitutional Democracy in Crisis?
Author: Mark A. Graber
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Total Pages: 352
Release: 2018-08-23
Genre: Law
ISBN: 0190889004

Is the world facing a serious threat to the protection of constitutional democracy? There is a genuine debate about the meaning of the various political events that have, for many scholars and observers, generated a feeling of deep foreboding about our collective futures all over the world. Do these events represent simply the normal ebb and flow of political possibilities, or do they instead portend a more permanent move away from constitutional democracy that had been thought triumphant after the demise of the Soviet Union in 1989? Constitutional Democracy in Crisis? addresses these questions head-on: Are the forces weakening constitutional democracy around the world general or nation-specific? Why have some major democracies seemingly not experienced these problems? How can we as scholars and citizens think clearly about the ideas of "constitutional crisis" or "constitutional degeneration"? What are the impacts of forces such as globalization, immigration, income inequality, populism, nationalism, religious sectarianism? Bringing together leading scholars to engage critically with the crises facing constitutional democracies in the 21st century, these essays diagnose the causes of the present afflictions in regimes, regions, and across the globe, believing at this stage that diagnosis is of central importance - as Abraham Lincoln said in his "House Divided" speech, "If we could first know where we are, and whither we are tending, we could then better judge what to do, and how to do it."

Constitutional Crises

Constitutional Crises
Author: Sanford Levinson
Publisher:
Total Pages: 46
Release: 2010
Genre:
ISBN:

In popular discussion, the term constitutional crisis is used to describe every kind of conflict, great and small. But we think we can give the idea greater analytical clarity, and in the process, make some important points about constitutional design.The secret, we shall argue, is to think about crisis not in terms of constitutional disagreement but in terms of constitutional design. Disagreement and conflict are natural features of politics. The goal of constitutions is to manage them within acceptable boundaries. When constitutional design functions properly - even if people strongly disagree with each other and threaten each other - there is no crisis. On the other hand, when the system of constitutional design breaks down, either because people abandon it or because it is leading them off of the proverbial cliff, disagreements and threats take on a special urgency that deserves the name of crisis. In this essay we offer a typology of different types of constitution crises based on this insight.We argue that a constitutional crisis refers to a turning point in the health and history of a constitutional order, and we identify three different types of constitutional crises. Type One crises arise when political leaders believe that exigencies require public violation of the constitution. Type Two crises are situations where fidelity to constitutional forms leads to ruin or disaster. Type Three crises involve situations where publicly articulated disagreements about the Constitution lead political actors to engage in extraordinary forms of protest beyond mere legal disagreements and political protests; people take to the streets, armies mobilize, and brute force is used - or threatened - in order to prevail. If a central purpose of constitutions is to make politics possible, constitutional crises mark moments when constitutions threaten to fail at this central task.

Viceregalism

Viceregalism
Author: H. Kumarasingham
Publisher: Springer Nature
Total Pages: 385
Release: 2020-07-18
Genre: History
ISBN: 3030462838

This book examines how the Crown has performed as Head of State across the UK and post war Commonwealth during times of political crisis. It explores the little-known relationships, powers and imperial legacies regarding modern heads of state in parliamentary regimes where so many decisions occur without parliamentary or public scrutiny. This original study highlights how the Queen’s position has been replicated across continents with surprising results. It also shows the topicality and contemporary relevance of this historical research to interpret and understand crises of governance and the enduring legacy of monarchy and colonialism to modern politics. This collection uniquely brings together a diverse set of states including specific chapters on England, Scotland, Northern Ireland, Sri Lanka, Malaysia, Brunei, Ghana, Nigeria, Zimbabwe/Rhodesia, Australia, Tuvalu, and the Commonwealth Caribbean. Viceregalism is written and conceptualised to remind that the Crown is not just a ceremonial part of the constitution, but a crucial political and international actor of real importance.

The Crisis of the Middle-Class Constitution

The Crisis of the Middle-Class Constitution
Author: Ganesh Sitaraman
Publisher: Vintage
Total Pages: 433
Release: 2017-03-14
Genre: Law
ISBN: 0451493923

In this original, provocative contribution to the debate over economic inequality, Ganesh Sitaraman argues that a strong and sizable middle class is a prerequisite for America’s constitutional system. A New York Times Notable Book of 2017 For most of Western history, Sitaraman argues, constitutional thinkers assumed economic inequality was inevitable and inescapable—and they designed governments to prevent class divisions from spilling over into class warfare. The American Constitution is different. Compared to Europe and the ancient world, America was a society of almost unprecedented economic equality, and the founding generation saw this equality as essential for the preservation of America’s republic. Over the next two centuries, generations of Americans fought to sustain the economic preconditions for our constitutional system. But today, with economic and political inequality on the rise, Sitaraman says Americans face a choice: Will we accept rising economic inequality and risk oligarchy or will we rebuild the middle class and reclaim our republic? The Crisis of the Middle-Class Constitution is a tour de force of history, philosophy, law, and politics. It makes a compelling case that inequality is more than just a moral or economic problem; it threatens the very core of our constitutional system.

Constitutions in Times of Financial Crisis

Constitutions in Times of Financial Crisis
Author: Tom Ginsburg
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Total Pages: 342
Release: 2022-06-30
Genre: Law
ISBN: 9781108729208

Many constitutions include provisions intended to limit the discretion of governments in economic policy. In times of financial crises, such provisions often come under pressure as a result of calls for exceptional responses to crisis situations. This volume assesses the ability of constitutional orders all over the world to cope with financial crises, and the demands for emergency powers that typically accompany them. Bringing together a variety of perspectives from legal scholars, economists, and political scientists, this volume traces the long-run implications of financial crises for constitutional order. In exploring the theoretical and practical problems raised by the constitutionalization of economic policy during times of severe crisis, this volume showcases an array of constitutional design options and the ways they channel governmental responses to emergency.

The Cycles of Constitutional Time

The Cycles of Constitutional Time
Author: Jack M. Balkin
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
Total Pages: 257
Release: 2020
Genre: Law
ISBN: 0197530990

"America's constitutional system evolves through the interplay between three cycles: the rise and fall of dominant political parties, the waxing and waning of political polarization, and alternating episodes of constitutional rot and constitutional renewal. America's politics seems especially fraught today because we are nearing the end of the Republican Party's long political dominance, at the height of a long cycle of political polarization, and suffering from an advanced case of "constitutional rot." Constitutional rot is the historical process through which republics become increasingly less representative and less devoted to the common good. Caused by increasing economic inequality and loss of trust, constitutional rot seriously threatens the constitutional system. But America has been through these cycles before, and will get through them again. America is in a Second Gilded Age slowly moving toward a second Progressive Era, during which polarization will eventually recede. The same cycles shape the work of the federal courts and theories about constitutional interpretation. They explain why political parties have switched sides on judicial review not once but twice in the twentieth century. Polarization and constitutional rot alter the political supports for judicial review, make fights over judicial appointments especially bitter, and encourage constitutional hardball. The Constitution ordinarily relies on the judiciary to protect democracy and to prevent political corruption and self-entrenching behavior. But when constitutional rot is advanced, the Supreme Court is likely to be ineffective and may even make matters worse. Courts cannot save the country from constitutional rot; only political mobilization can"--