拉美与美国立宪主义分型探源

在历史上,拉美与美国相继推行立宪主义,但二者却是貌合神离。美国借由立宪实现了宪政,拉美虽有立宪之名却无宪政之实。国外学者多从二者立宪所依凭的外在条件来解释其原因,本文试图从宪法根基这一维度来考量拉美与美国两种立宪发展中的分型。拉美采取了以政治精英为主轴、始终脱离民众的立宪逻辑,美国则将宪法根基深植于民众。拉美和美国立宪主义的分型表明,立宪是多种制度要素之间的合理搭配,需要妥当安置常态政治与宪法政治、大传统与小传统、同意与代表等制度要素之间的关系。

A Comparative Study of Constitutionalism in the U.S.And Latin America

The United States achieved the goal of establishing constitutional rule by following constitutionalism. However, constitutionalism failed to bring Latin America a fully functioned constitutional mechanism. Constitutional rule was based on consensus and popular support in the United States while it was mainly a result of elite politics in Latin America. To fully play its role, Constitutionalism must rely on a variety of institutional factors including normal politics and constitutional politics, great tradit...