1.

Record Nr.

UNINA9910810878003321

Autore

Elkins Zachary <1970->

Titolo

The endurance of national constitutions / / Zachary Elkins, Tom Ginsburg, James Melton

Pubbl/distr/stampa

Cambridge ; ; New York, : Cambridge University Press, 2009

ISBN

1-107-19050-9

0-511-70015-6

1-282-38872-X

0-511-64074-9

9786612388729

0-511-81759-2

0-511-64142-7

0-511-63898-1

0-511-63791-8

0-511-64006-4

Edizione

[1st ed.]

Descrizione fisica

1 online resource (x, 260 pages) : digital, PDF file(s)

Altri autori (Persone)

GinsburgTom

MeltonJames <1981->

Disciplina

342.02

Soggetti

Constitutions

Constitutional law

Constitutional history

Lingua di pubblicazione

Inglese

Formato

Materiale a stampa

Livello bibliografico

Monografia

Note generali

Title from publisher's bibliographic system (viewed on 05 Oct 2015).

Nota di bibliografia

Includes bibliographical references (p. 231-246) and index.

Nota di contenuto

Introduction -- How long should constitutions endure? -- Conceptualizing constitutions -- What makes constitutions endure? -- Identifying risks to constitutional life -- An epidemiological analysis of constitutional mortality -- Cases of constitutional mortality, Part I : similar contexts, contrasting outcomes -- Cases of constitutional mortality, Part II : contrasting contexts, similar outcomes.

Sommario/riassunto

Constitutions are supposed to provide an enduring structure for politics. Yet only half live more than nine years. Why is it that some constitutions endure while others do not? In The Endurance of National Constitutions Zachary Elkins, Tom Ginsburg and James Melton examine



the causes of constitutional endurance from an institutional perspective. Supported by an original set of cross-national historical data, theirs is the first comprehensive study of constitutional mortality. They show that whereas constitutions are imperilled by social and political crises, certain aspects of a constitution's design can lower the risk of death substantially. Thus, to the extent that endurance is desirable - a question that the authors also subject to scrutiny - the decisions of founders take on added importance.