Constitution‐writing in deeply divided societies
The Incrementalist Approach
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 6305779 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Hanna Lerner (0000-0003-1768-9230, Tel Aviv University, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2010 |
| Volume | 16 |
| Issue | 1 |
| Pages | 68-88 |
| Publication date | 2010-01-01 |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Nations and Nationalism (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 1345-5078 • E-ISSN: 1469-8129 |
| Publisher | Wiley (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1111/j.1469-8129.2010.00435.x |
| OpenAlex | W2110167046 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 10 |
| References cited | 26 |
The article addresses the puzzle of how societies still grappling over the common values and shared vision of their state draft a democratic constitution. It argues that an incrementalist approach to constitution‐making enabled such deeply divided societies to enact either a written constitution or function with a material constitution by deferring controversial choices regarding the foundational aspects of the polity to future political institutions. It demonstrates how various types of incrementalist constitutional strategies – such as avoidance of clear decisions, the use of ambivalent and vague legal language, or the inclusion of contrasting provisions in the constitution – were deployed in the constitutional drafting of three deeply divided societies: India, Ireland and Israel. By importing the existing ideational conflicts into their constitutions, and by deviating from the common perception of constitution‐making as a revolutionary moment, the framers in these three cases enabled their constitutions to reflect the divided identity of ‘the people
Aesthetics · Ambivalence · Constitution · Democracy · Identity (music · Political science · Politics · Polity · Sociology · State (computer science · Historical and Contemporary Political Dynamics · Judicial and Constitutional Studies · Law · Law in Society and Culture · Philosophy · Psychology · Social Psychology
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| Citations per year | 0.83 |
|---|---|
| Citation span | 2014 - 2026 (13) |
| Highly cited | No |