Political change and constitutions
Monte Reel, wrote in The Washington Post about political change in Latin America. The article might promote a good discussion about constitutionalism and the purposes of a constitution.South America's Constitutional Battles
"Movements to rewrite national constitutions are dramatically changing the political paths of several South American countries, triggering bitter debates over whether new charters will benefit future generations or simply serve the political ambitions of current presidents.
"In three Andean countries... political leaders recently have pursued constitutional rewrites that would make it more difficult for future administrations to reverse the policies they instituted while in office. But in recent weeks, the proposals have reenergized opposition movements, which complain that their governments are tilting toward authoritarianism...
"'Large-scale constitutional reforms are extremely popular with citizens," said Jonathan Hartlyn, a political scientist at the University of North Carolina who has studied constitutional politics throughout Latin America. "They're particularly popular in a context of perceived economic and social exclusion, and in places where political parties and politicians are both weak and extremely unpopular and are blamed for the crisis.'...
"'When drafting a lasting constitution, you need to take specific policy off the table and focus on principles," said David King, associate director of Harvard University's Institute of Politics and a native of Bolivia. "It can be helpful to focus on abstractions and not particulars.'..."
Labels: change, concepts, constitution, pedagogy
posted by Ken Wedding @ 7:44 AM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home