Incomplete Constitutions and Coordination in Deeply Divided Societies

Shamshad Pasarlay is an assistant instructional professor of comparative constitutional law and politics at the University of Chicago and a leading expert of constitutional history of Afghanistan. Incomplete Constitutions and Coordination in Deeply Divided Societies builds on his award-winning doctoral dissertation.

• Introduction; 1. A new model for coordinating deeply divided societies; 2. From 'Yaghistan' to Afghanistan: the foundations of the Afghan State and its peoples; 3. Incomplete constitutions and coordination: a tale of two early constitutions in Afghanistan; 4. Rethinking Afghanistan's 'finest (1964) constitution as a coordination device; 5. Short-lived regimes and coordination failures, 1973–2001; 6. The veterans of failed constitution-making assemble: drafting the 2004 constitution; 7. The rise and fall of the 2004 constitution as a coordination device: the incomplete constitution in practice; Conclusion; Bibliography.

'This book provides a compelling account of Afghanistan's constitutional history and advances an innovative model of coordination through deliberately incomplete constitutions in deeply divided societies. Combining deep expertise in Afghan constitutionalism with comparative constitutional insights, Shamshad Pasarlay offers a readable, persuasive, and thought-provoking framework of wide relevance. I recommend it highly.' Cheryl Saunders, Professor of Law at the Melbourne Law School