Beginning the World Again: Constitutional Change and Democratization

• In Event: 261 - Section on Political Sociology Refereed Roundtable Session and Business Meeting
  In Refereed Roundtable 60min: Table 07. Dynamics of Democratization

Abstract

Advocates of democratization sometimes argue that on balance, constitutional reform tends to be a good thing. Because constitutional amendments, conventions, assemblies, and consultations usually involve large sectors of a society’s population, constitutional processes compel deliberation and participation, thereby changing culture and instituting new social arrangements and structures. Others counter that too much constitutional change can pose unacceptable risks to established democratic rights. In this study, data from 243 countries over 66 years (1946-2012) are used to consider the relationship between constitutional reform and democratization. Multiple regression analysis of the data finds that constitutional amendments tend to be associated with greater democratization over time. Other preliminary findings show some perhaps surprising positive correlations between constitutional instability and democratization, and raise questions about the importance of what the author identifies as the processual, as opposed to substantive, aspects of constitutionalization.

Author

• Ben Manski, University of California, Santa Barbara