An Historical Introduction to Western Constitutional Law - Hardcover

Caenegem, R. C. Van Van

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 052147115X ISBN 13: 9780521471152

Publisher: Cambridge University Press, 1995

Synopsis

Professor van Caenegem's new book addresses fundamental questions of constitutional organization--democracy versus autocracy, unitary versus federal organization, pluralism versus intolerance--by analyzing different models of constitutional government through a historical perspective. The approach is chronological: constitutionalism is explained as the result of many centuries of trial and error through a narrative that begins in the early Middle Ages and concludes with contemporary debates, focusing on Europe, the United States, and the Soviet Union.

About this title

Book Description:

Beginning in the early Middle Ages and concluding with contemporary debates, this study addresses fundamental questions of constitutional organization--democracy versus autocracy, unitary versus federal organization, pluralism versus intolerance--by analyzing different models of constitutional government.

From the Back Cover:

The constitutional question is of paramount importance in the political and nationalist agenda of late twentieth-century Europe. Arguments focus on the best form of constitutional organization: democracy versus autocracy, unitary versus federal organization, pluralism versus intolerance, centralism versus regionalism, national sovereignty versus European. Professor van Caenegem's new book addresses these fundamental questions by analysing different models of constitutional government through a historical perspective, assessing why some models were established and others rejected. The book's approach is pragmatic and chronological: constitutionalism is explained not as a paradigm devised by a team of jurists, but as the result of many centuries of trial and error. The narrative begins in the early Middle Ages and concludes with contemporary debates, taking as its focus the main European countries, the United States, and finally the former Soviet Union. Special attention is devoted to the rise of the rule of law, and of constitutional, parliamentary and federal forms of government. The Anglo-American contribution to the ascendancy of present-day liberal democracy is underlined, but the latter's rejection by twentieth-century totalitarian regimes also receives extensive treatment. The epilogue discusses the future of liberal democracy as a universal model.

About this edition

• Publisher: Cambridge University Press
• Publication date: 1995
• ISBN 10: 052147115X
• ISBN 13: 9780521471152
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 352