In Sub-Saharan Africa, all forty countries that transitioned to competitive politics in the 1990s marked their liberalizations with initial or subsequent constitutional changes. Based on qualitative studies of four model countries, this essay elaborates a theoretical argument on constitutionalism in these democratic transitions. Two central concerns are highlighted: First, struggles to ensure broadly participative processes of constitution-making-indicative of emergent conceptions of a people's sovereignty. Second, struggles to secure presidential term limits-indicative of lessons from personal rule and of emergent notions of limited government. Because of stalemates and some violent confrontations, such contests over norms and, fundamentally, over how norms will be authored, are often viewed by several analysts as reflecting immense problems in these transitions, leading to descriptions such as ”quasi,” ”protracted,” or ”virtual” democracies. Instead, this essay demonstrates that such contests underscore the evolving character of these democracies, which is fundamentally progressive and positive rather than pathological.
為了持續優化網站功能與使用者體驗,本網站將Cookies分析技術用於網站營運、分析和個人化服務之目的。
若您繼續瀏覽本網站,即表示您同意本網站使用Cookies。