Suchergebnisse

Both political theory and constitutional, the overwhelming majority of analyzes on the creation of constitutions taken as perspective the idea of a new political beginning, is to refer to the revolution that founded the first Republican government in a country, or the transition from an authoritarian to a democratic regime. However, you may break out in a constitutional process of a democratic order and constituted. This may occur because basic aspects of the current constitution have become dysfunctional in a given historical situation or because society has undergone changes that make questionable origin and political orientation of the Constitution. Adapted from the source document.

The formulas for electing presidents and the rules determining the legislative powers of presidents are important variables for explaining the performance of presidential democracies. This article develops a strategic choice model to explain variations in these institutional features. Based on this model, it is proposed here that constitution makers are likely to opt for more-than-plurality rules of presidential elections when the number of parties necessary to pass constitutional changes increases. It is also proposed that the makers of constitutions are likely to strengthen the legislative powers of the president when the number of parties necessary to pass constitutional changes increases and when parties are decentralized. The argument is supported by a statistical analysis of the determinants of constitutional choice in Latin America. (British Journal of Political Science / FUB)