Thinking About Constitutionalism at the Start of the Twenty-First Century

At the beginning of a new century, constitutional democracy seems ascendant almost to the point of a universal inevitability. What follows is in part a cautionary tale and in part an assessment of where we now stand in one of history's most hopeful long-term trends. An examination of the diffus...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Publius 2000-10, Vol.30 (4), p.115-135
Main Author: Lutz, Donald S.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Bill of Rights
Constitution
Constitutional history
Constitutionalism
Constitutions
Countries
Culture
Democracy
Democratic regimes
History
History of political ideas
Humans
Liberal democracy
Nation states
Political aspects
Political Systems
Political thought
Politics
Popular sovereignty
Post World War II Period
Separation of powers
Sovereignty
Technological innovation
Twenty First Century
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Summary:At the beginning of a new century, constitutional democracy seems ascendant almost to the point of a universal inevitability. What follows is in part a cautionary tale and in part an assessment of where we now stand in one of history's most hopeful long-term trends. An examination of the diffusion of constitutional democracy, and of general trends in cross-national constitutional developments since World War II, leads to a consideration of the manner and extent to which modern constitutionalism embodies a recapitulation of human cultural and political evolution. The culture-power-justice nexus that characterizes modem constitutionalism was first dissected by Montesquieu, and an examination of his approach to constitutionalism provides a useful window into why we developed the political technology of constitutional democracy and why the future of this technology is not a foregone conclusion.
ISSN:0048-5950
1747-7107
DOI:10.1093/oxfordjournals.pubjof.a030099