Territory and Power in Constitutional Transitions

by George Anderson, Sujit Choudhry

Overview

This collection of essays surveys the full range of challenges that territorial conflicts pose for constitution-making processes and constitutional design. It provides seventeen in-depth case studies of countries going through periods of intense constitutional engagement in a variety of contexts: small distinct territories, bi-communal countries, highly diverse countries with many politically salient regions, and countries where territorial politics is important but secondary to other bases for political mobilization. Specific examples are drawn from Iraq, Kenya, Cyprus, Nigeria, South Africa, Sri Lanka, the UK (Scotland), Ukraine, Bolivia, India, Spain, Yemen, Nepal, Ethiopia, Indonesia (Aceh), the Philippines (Mindanao), and Bosnia-Herzegovina.

While the volume draws significant normative conclusions, it is based on a realist view of the complexity of territorial and other political cleavages (the country's "political geometry"), and the power configurations that lead into periods of constitutional engagement. Thematic chapters on constitution-making processes and constitutional design draw original conclusions from the comparative analysis of the case studies and relate these to the existing literature, both in political science and comparative constitutional law. This volume is essential reading for scholars of federalism, consociational power-sharing arrangements, asymmetrical devolution, and devolution more generally. The combination of in-depth case studies and broad thematic analysis allows for analytical and normative conclusions that will be of major relevance to practitioners and advisors engaged in constitutional design.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780198836544
Publisher:	Oxford University Press
Publication date:	05/07/2019
Pages:	480
Product dimensions:	9.30(w) x 6.40(h) x 1.30(d)

About the Author

George Anderson, Fellow, Centre for Democracy and Diversity, Queen's University, Canada,Sujit Choudhry, Director, Center for Constitutional Transitions

George Anderson is former deputy minister (permanent secretary) in the Canadian government and subsequently CEO of the Forum of Federations. He has been a member of the Standby Team of Experts in the UN's Department of Political Affairs and consulted extensively around the world. He is currently a fellow at the Centre for Democracy and Diversity at Queen's University, Kingston, Canada, and has had earlier resident fellowships at Harvard and New York universities.

Sujit Choudhry is an internationally recognized authority on comparative constitutional law, and has been an advised on constitution building, governance, and rule of law processes for over 20 years, including in Egypt, Jordan, Libya, Nepal, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Tunisia, Ukraine and Yemen. He founded and directs the Center for Constitutional Transitions (CT).

Table of Contents

1. Territorial Cleavages and the Bolivian Constitutional Transition, Gustavo Bonifaz Moreno and George Gray Molina2. Bosnia and Herzegovina, Marie-Joelle Zahar3. The 2002-2004 Annan Plan in Cyprus: An Attempted UN-Mediated Constitutional Transition, Neophytos Loizides and John McGarry4. Emergence and Transformation of Territorially Based Cleavages and Constitutional Responses in Ethiopia, Assefa Fiseha5. States Reorganization and the Accommodation of Ethno-Territorial Cleavages in India, Harihar Bhattacharyya6. Dealing with Territorial Cleavages in Constitutional Transitions in Iraq, Zaid Al-Ali7. Indonesia: "Special Autonomy" for Aceh and Papua, Jacques Bertrand8. Constitutional Transitions and Territorial Cleavages: the Kenyan Case, Yash Ghai and Jill Cottrell9. "Godot has Arrived!" Federal Restructuring in Nepal, Mara Malagodi10. Nigeria's Permanent Constitutional Transition: Military Rule, Civilian Instability, and the Unending Search for Democratic "True Federalism" in a Deeply Divided Society, Rotimi Suberu11. The Philippines: Peace talks and autonomy in Mindanao, Bryony Lau12. The Withering away of Politically Salient Territorial Cleavages in South Africa and the Emergence of Watermark Ethnic Federalism, Nico Steytler13. Spain: Constitutional Transition through Gradual Accommodation of Territories, Cesar Colino, Luis Moreno, and Angustias Hombrado14. Sri Lanka's Failed Peace Process and the Continuing Challenge of Ethno-Territorial Cleavages, Asanga Welikala15. After the Scottish Independence Referendum: Towards a Federal Moment for the United Kingdom?, Stephen Tierney16. Dealing with Territorial Cleavages: The Rise and Fall of Ukraine's Faustian Bargain, Lucan Way17. Yemen's Failed Constitutional Transition, George Anderson18. Processes of Constitutional Transitions in the Face of Territorial Cleavages, Cheryl Saunders19. Constitutional Design and Territorial Cleavages, Tom Ginsburg20. Territorial Cleavages and Constitutional Transitions: Political Mobilization, Constitution-Making Processes, and Constitutional Design, George Anderson and Sujit Choudhry

Editorial Reviews

"This remarkable contribution to the understanding of contemporary Libya doubles as a primer on violent conflict and its societal ramifications, and invites reexamination of other cases of mass civil violence. Recommended for larger college libraries and collections supporting international and conflict studies." — Choice

From the Publisher