Constitutional reform and new patterns of electoral violence: evidence from Kenya’s 2013 elections

In places prone to electoral violence, what effects can constitutional changes have on elites’ incentives to organise conflict? This article develops two hypotheses to address the above question. It proposes that in places where national reforms find sub-national resonance, national and local politicians’ incentives regarding the electoral utility of conflict will align. However, in places where national-level changes fail to be locally relevant, these incentives will deviate from one another. The research illustrates these logics through a controlled comparison of two Kenyan counties: one that experienced electoral violence and the other that maintained peace around the 2013 elections.     

Statehood without an army: the question of the Kosovo Armed Force

ABSTRACT

Almost a decade after its declaration of independence, Kosovo continues to depend on NATO’s Kosovo Force (KFOR) for its protection. This article explores why Kosovo has not developed its own armed forces and how it could complete the process of security institution building through the establishment of a Kosovo Armed Force (KAF) in the future. Conceptually, the article highlights the role of different agents with diverging positions on the development of a KAF and the unfolding politicization of the issue, under conditions of legal uncertainty. The empirical analysis traces the stalemate regarding the creation of a KAF to legal restraints and the diverging positions of different parties on the issue. More specifically, the government’s inability to balance between the high expectations of Kosovo Albanians and the adamant objections of Kosovo Serbs has exacerbated the politicization of the debate.     

Participatory constitution-making and why it matters: A review of the Egyptian experience

This article considers the making of Egypt's post-Mubarak constitution after considering the fact that participatory constitution-making is accepted as a democratic norm allowing citizens to be involved in the creation of their constitution and their future. The author argues that the process by which a constitution is made is crucial for the framing and legitimising of that constitution. Therefore, political elites and state institutions should not wholly control the process. The views of two schools of thought – idealism and realism – are considered. These views, together with the influence of the state and the concept of participation of the citizenry in the constitution-making process, are measured against international law requirements and further applied in a critical evaluation of Egypt's constitution-making process from 2011 to 2014.     

宪法诉讼的宪政价值初探

宪法诉讼制度是近代宪政理念及其制度建构发展到一定阶段的产物,并且自其产生以来就在整个宪法监督体系中发挥了不可取代的作用。宪法诉讼的价值是多元的,在宪法诉讼的价值体系中,宪政价值无疑具有最为重要的地位。宪法诉讼作为宪法的免疫器和宪政的守护神,对一国的宪政建设无疑具有首要的意义,即"无诉讼则无宪政"。     

邓小平社会主义宪政思想的逻辑体系

中国正处于实现依法治国和建设社会主义政治文明过程中,有必要对邓小平社会主义宪政思想的逻辑体系做一个系统的归纳和总结,这是中国政治体制改革的内在要求。邓小平的社会主义宪政思想是在坚持四项基本原则的基础上,立足于中国国情,同社会主义经济发展状况相匹配的有中国特色的社会主义宪政思想,为中国政治体制改革提供理论借鉴。     

Power of the law or power of the sword: the conflictive relationship between the executive and the legislative in nineteenth-century Peru

ABSTRACT

The Peruvian parliament was a central institution in the early republic, but so far very little has been written on its history. This is due to the fact that military leaders took control of power for most of the nineteenth century. This article reflects on three main questions: what was the role of the legislative in nineteenth-century Peru? What was its relationship with the executive power? And what part did conflict play in these relationships? Most initial congresses were tasked with writing up constitutions, because institutions had to be created, and there was a strong belief that having a written charter mattered. The strongmen who took power felt the need to obtain legitimacy from both constitutions, and elections, but often did not see eye to eye with congress. This led congress to be closed, particularly when legislators refused to bow down to presidential power.     

The impact of student-generated digital flashcards on student learning of constitutional law

This article describes, evaluates and reflects upon student creation of cloud-based digital flashcards as an authentic formative and summative assessment task designed for the deep learning of constitutional law. The usefulness of digital flashcards in online legal education is explored. The undergraduate law student participants in the study responded differently to the assessment task depending upon the constitutional law topic they were assigned, the perceived relevance of constructing digital flashcards to professional practice and how they reacted to this creative task. Building digital flashcards provides a potentially powerful authentic assessment task for the study of constitutional law provided it is designed to support semester long creation, validation and sharing of digital flashcards that students perceive as professionally relevant and educationally useful. Student recommendations for designing an assessment task involving the creation of digital flashcards are evaluated.     

原旨主义、活的宪法与复杂状态下的宪法解释?

宪法解释应该遵循原初意义还是回应时代需要,是原旨主义和“活的宪法”之争的焦点所在。在对宪法裁判进行批判与维护的过程中,原意解释方法和非原意解释方法都开始走向基础主义。两种解释方法执着于单一的理念,既无法证明自己比对方更为优秀,也未能对解释实践进行全面的描述。宪法解释是一个相当复杂、语境多元的过程,在不同复杂状况下,法官拥有不同程度的解释裁量权。有鉴于此,任何将宪法解释化约为单一解释哲学的做法,都是不恰当的。     

论制宪权的概念--兼论中国历史上的几次立宪活动

制宪权是宪法制定和运行的前提 ,但传统制宪权理论并未准确揭示其权力属性、内涵和外延。根据制宪权的性质可以判定 :制宪权形成的条件包括国家政治统一、制宪过程民主、以立宪为直接目的等 ,而且制宪权的关键在“定”而非“制”,即制宪权作为一种权力的本质内涵在于能够使宪法产生规范效力。与此相适应 ,制宪权主体构成在体制上可分单一制和复合制两种 ,在具体形态上则更为复杂多样。     

论依法行政的制约因素及其对策

在我国 ,全面推进依法行政 ,建设法治政府 ,无论是观念上还是制度上都面临着挑战。因此 ,依法行政是一场深刻的观念更新和制度变革 ,必须加强社会主义宪政建设