Constitutional Democracy

Creating and Maintaining a Just Political Order

Häftad, Engelska, 2008

AvWalter F. Murphy,Princeton University) Murphy, Walter F. (McCormick Professor of Jurisprudence, Emeritus,Walter F Murphy

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Constitutional democracy is a political hybrid, the product of an uneasy union between, on the one hand, the normative theories of constitutionalism and democracy and, on the other, the desire to live under what James Madison called "free government." In this engaging and provocative work, Walter F. Murphy combines a lifetime's study of constitutions and democracy with traditional storytelling to answer fundamental questions about constitutional democracy: How is it created? How is it maintained? How can it be adapted to changing circumstances? Murphy begins with a definitional section on constitutions, constitutional texts, constitutionalism, and democracy. Next, he tells the story of how a democracy is established within the context of a fictional constitutional convention for a fictional country. He follows delegates-many of whose arguments track those of real-life political, economic, and legal theorists-as they debate and draft the components of a constitution. Here, the reader comes to understand and appreciate the components of a constitutional text and the contingency and potential of the constitution-making process.Murphy then offers an expository analysis of constitutional maintenance, adaptation, and, essentially, constitutional change.

Produktinformation

Utgivningsdatum2008-10-27
Mått156 x 235 x 30 mm
Vikt748 g
FormatHäftad
SpråkEngelska
SerieThe Johns Hopkins Series in Constitutional Thought
Antal sidor568
FörlagJohns Hopkins University Press
ISBN9780801891076
UtmärkelserWinner of PROSE Award for Best Book in Social Sciences 2007 (United States)

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PrefaceGeneral InformationI. Creating a Constitutional DemocracyIntroduction1. Values, Interests, and Goals2. Alternative Political Systems3. Alternative Political Systems: The Debate4. The Possibility of Constitutional Democracy5. To Draft or Not to Draft a Constitutional Text6. Drafting 1: The Shape of the Constitution7. Drafting 2: The Judiciary8. Drafting 3: A Bill of Rights9. Drafting 4: Special CasesEpilogueII. Maintaining a Constitutional DemocracyIntroduction10. Creating Citizens11. Military and Security Forces12. Rebuilding the Machinery of the State: The Bureaucracies13. Dealing with Deposed Despots14. Constitutional Interpretation as Constitutional Maintenance15. Constitutional Change and Its LimitsEpilogueRepriseGeneral IndexIndex of Cases

This is a significant, impressive work of constitutional theory in its largest and most important sense. Choice 2007 The phrase 'instant classic' may be an oxymoron, but if it can be fairly applied to any recent work in the field of constitutional theory, this is the one. -- Jack Wade Nowlin, Jessie D. Puckett Jr. Law and Politics Book Review 2007 Constitutional Democracy is an extraordinarily ambitious book, taking as its model nothing less than Aristotle's Politics. -- George Thomas Claremont Review of Books 2007 This fine book brings to bear Walter Murphy's manifold gifts: breadth of knowledge about political systems around the world and throughout history, keen critical learning about ancient and modern political thought, deep understanding of constitutional law, and a clear and clever style. -- Ralph Ketcham Perspectives on Politics 2008 In this magnum opus, Walter Murphy tells [the] story with all the erudition and skill that he has gathered in a lifetime of the study of political systems. Journal of the Commonwealth Lawyers' Association 2007