The Story of Constitutions
Discovering the We in Us
Part of Comparative Constitutional Law and Policy
- Author: Wim Voermans, Universiteit Leiden
- Date Published: November 2023
- availability: Not yet published - available from October 2024
- format: Paperback
- isbn: 9781009385046
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Today, 189 out of 193 officially recognised nation-states have a written constitution, and 75% of these have been ratified since 1975. How did this worldwide diffusion of constitutions come about? In this book, Wim Voermans traces the varied and surprising story of constitutions since the agricultural revolution of c.10,000 bce. Adopting an interdisciplinary approach, Voermans shows how human evolution, human nature and the history of thought have all played their part in shaping modern constitutions. Constitutions, in turn, have shaped our societies, creating imagined communities of trust and recognition that allow us to successfully co-operate with one another. Engagingly and wittily told, the story of constitutions is vital to understanding our world, our civilisations and, most significantly, ourselves.
Read more- Engagingly and accessibly traces the story of constitutions from 10,000 B.C. until the present day
- Adopts an interdisciplinary approach to examine the multifaceted history of constitutions
- Highlights how constitutions create imagined communities that facilitate trust and recognition within human groups
Awards
- Winner, 2024 The Constitutional Studies - 2023 Book of the Year Award, The University of Texas at Austin
Reviews & endorsements
'A grand masterpiece that teaches as much as it inspires, this outstanding book enriches our understanding of the origins and evolution of constitutions and opens new research streams that will guide scholars for years to come. This magisterial work catapults Voermans to the Mount Rushmore of modern constitutional studies.' Richard Albert, The University of Texas at Austin
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×Product details
- Date Published: November 2023
- format: Paperback
- isbn: 9781009385046
- length: 388 pages
- dimensions: 227 x 152 x 21 mm
- weight: 0.59kg
- contains: 35 b/w illus.
- availability: Not yet published - available from October 2024
Table of Contents
1. Introduction: the century of constitutions
Part I. Constitutional Diffusion:
2. Constitutions everywhere
3. The origin of constitutions
Part II. The History of the Constitution:
4. Precursors
5. Etched into collective memory: ancient constitutions
6. Roman roots
7. Mediaeval constitutions
8. Early-modern constitutions
9. Generations: the first generation of monarchical constitutions
10. Second generation: revolutionary constitutions
11. Third generation: restoration constitutions
12. Fourth generation: liberal constitutions
13. Fifth generation: imperial constitutions
14. Sixth generation: Leviathan constitutions
15. The seventh generation: liberation constitutions
16. The eighth generation: liberal-democratic constitutions
17. What are the lessons of history?
Part III. Concepts, Shapes and Types of Constitutions:
18. What is a constitution?
19. Constitutional kinship
Part IV. Effects:
20. What does a constitution do?
21. The legal meaning of constitutions
22. Economic aspects
23. Political aspects
Part V. The Imagined Order of the Constitution:
24. The constitution's beating heart: emotions
25. The roots of the tree of knowledge
26. Constitutions as vehicles for legitimacy
27. The story of the constitution
28. Appealing to the imagination: constitutional experience
29. Once upon a time... There was the constitution.
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