Changing the rules : constitutional amendments in democracies / George Tsebelis.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Tsebelis, George, author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Constitutional amendments.

Democracy.

Constitutional history.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (xvi, 303 pages) : digital, PDF file(s).

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Cambridge, United Kingdom ; New York, NY : Cambridge University Press, 2025.

Summary:

Changing the Rules enters into the debate between theoretical analyses of constitutional amendments (considered the most important part of a constitution) and empirical research (which argues that amendment provisions have little or no significance). George Tsebelis demonstrates how strict provisions are a necessary condition for amendments to have low frequency and significance and provides empirical evidence from case studies and over 100 democracies to corroborate this claim. Examining various cultural theories that dispute these findings, Tsebelis explains why their conclusions have weak foundations. He argues that constitutional rigidity is also a necessary condition for judicial independence and provides theoretical argument and empirical evidence. Tsebelis also establishes a negative correlation between the length of a constitution and problematic indicators such as time inconsistency, low GDP/capita, high corruption, inequality, and lack of innovation. This title is also available as Open Access on Cambridge Core.

Contents:

The landscape of constitutional amendments

An institutional approach to constitutional rigidity

Cultural theories of constitutional amendments

Cases of failed amendments : Italy and Chile

A case of successful amendments : Mexico

Constitutional rigidity and amendment rate

Time inconsistency and other correlates of constitutional length

Constitutional rigidity and judicial independence.

Notes:

Title from publisher's bibliographic system (viewed on 24 Apr 2025).

ISBN:

1-009-59722-1

1-009-59724-8

1-009-59723-X

Access Restriction:

Open Access. Unrestricted online access