Table Of ContentConstituents before Assembly
Under what circumstances do new constitutions improve a nation’s level of democ-
racy? Between 1974 and 2014, democracy increased in 77 countries following the
adoption of a new constitution, but it decreased or stayed the same in 47 others.
This book demonstrates that increased participation in the forming of constitu-
tions positively impacts levels of democracy. It is discovered that the degree of
citizen participation at the “convening stage” of constitution-making has a strong
effect on levels of democracy. This fnding defes the common theory that levels
of democracy result from the content of constitutions, and instead lends support to
“deliberative” theories of democracy. Patterns of constitutions are then compared,
differentiating imposed and popular constitution-making processes, using case stud-
ies from Chile, Nigeria, Gambia, and Venezuela to illustrate the dynamics specifc
to imposed constitution-making, and case studies from Colombia, Ecuador, Egypt,
and Tunisia to illustrate the specifc dynamics of popular constitution-making.
Todd A. Eisenstadt is Professor of Government at American University. His democ-
ratization and rule of law scholarship includes his award-winning dissertation
book Courting Democracy in Mexico: Party Strategies and Electoral Institutions
(Cambridge, 2004). His research has been funded by Fulbright, the Ford and Mellon
Foundations, and the National Science Foundation. He has held visiting appoint-
ments at El Colegio de México, Harvard University, the University of California,
San Diego, and the Latin American Social Science Faculty (FLACSO) in Ecuador.
A. Carl LeVan is Associate Professor in the School of International Service at American
University in Washington, DC. He is the author of Dictators and Democracy in African
Development: The Political Economy of Good Governance in Nigeria (Cambridge,
2015) and co-editor of African State Governance: Subnational Politics and National
Power (2015). Prior to receiving his Ph.D. in Political Science from the University of
California – San Diego, he worked as a legislative director in the US Congress and
later worked as a technical advisor to Nigeria’s National Assembly.
Tofgh Maboudi is Assistant Professor in the Department of Political Science at
Loyola University Chicago. His research on constitutional reform processes has
appeared in the American Political Science Review and Political Research Quarterly.
Prior to receiving his Ph.D. in Political Science from American University in
Washington, DC, he worked as a foreign media consultant in Tehran, Iran, where
he received his Master’s degree in North American Studies. During his Ph.D.
program, he received several awards including the American University’s Award
for Outstanding Scholarship at the Graduate Level.
Comparative Constitutional Law and Policy
Series Editors
Tom Ginsburg, University of Chicago
Zachary Elkins, University of Texas at Austin
Ran Hirschl, University of Toronto
Comparative constitutional law is an intellectually vibrant feld that encom-
passes an increasingly broad array of approaches and methodologies. This
series collects analytically innovative and empirically grounded work from
scholars of comparative constitutionalism across academic disciplines. Books
in the series include theoretically informed studies of single constitutional
jurisdictions, comparative studies of constitutional law and institutions, and
edited collections of original essays that respond to challenging theoretical
and empirical questions in the feld.
Books in the Series
Constituents before Assembly: Participation, Deliberation, and Representa-
tion in the Crafting of New Constitutions Todd A. Eisenstadt, A. Carl
LeVan, and Tofgh Maboudi
Buddhism, Politics and the Limits of Law: The Pyrrhic Constitutionalism of
Sri Lanka Benjamin Schonthal
Assessing Constitutional Performance Tom Ginsburg and Aziz Huq
Engaging with Social Rights Brian Ray
Constitutional Courts as Mediators Julio Ríos-Figueroa
Perils of Judicial Self-Government in Transitional Societies David Kosař
Making We the People Chaihark Hahm and Sung Ho Kim
Radical Deprivation on Trial Cesar Rodríguez-Garavito and Diana
Rodríguez-Franco
Unstable Constitutionalism edited by Mark Tushnet and Madhav Khosla
Magna Carta and Its Modern Legacy edited by Robert Hazell and James
Melton
Constitutions and Religious Freedom Frank Cross
International Courts and the Performance of International Agreements:
A General Theory with Evidence from the European Union Clifford
Carrubba and Matthew Gabel
Reputation and Judicial Tactics: A Theory of National and International
Courts Shai Dothan
Social Difference and Constitutionalism in Pan-Asia edited by Susan H.
Williams
Constitutionalism in Asia in the Early Twenty-First Century edited by
Albert Chen
Constitutions in Authoritarian Regimes edited by Tom Ginsburg and
Alberto Simpser
Presidential Legislation in India: The Law and Practice of Ordinances
Shubhankar Dam
Social and Political Foundations of Constitutions edited by Denis J.
Galligan and Mila Versteeg
Consequential Courts: Judicial Roles in Global Perspective edited by
Diana Kapiszewski, Gordon Silverstein and Robert A. Kagan
Comparative Constitutional Design edited by Tom Ginsburg
Constituents before Assembly
Participation, Deliberation, and
Representation in the Crafting
of New Constitutions
TODD A. EISENSTADT
American University
A. CARL LEVAN
American University
TOFIGH MABOUDI
Loyola University Chicago
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Cambridge University Press is part of the University of Cambridge.
It furthers the University’s mission by disseminating knowledge in the pursuit of
education, learning, and research at the highest international levels of excellence.
www.cambridge.org
Information on this title: www.cambridge.org/9781107168220
DOI: 10.1017/9781316717080
© Todd A. Eisenstadt, A. Carl LeVan, and Tofgh Maboudi 2017
This publication is in copyright. Subject to statutory exception
and to the provisions of relevant collective licensing agreements,
no reproduction of any part may take place without the written
permission of Cambridge University Press.
First published 2017
Printed in the United States of America by Sheridan Books, Inc.
A catalogue record for this publication is available from the British Library.
ISBN 978-1-107-16822-0 Hardback
Cambridge University Press has no responsibility for the persistence or accuracy
of URLs for external or third-party internet websites referred to in this publication
and does not guarantee that any content on such websites is, or will remain,
accurate or appropriate.
Eisenstadt dedicates this book to his daughters, Natalia and Paola,
with great pride in how they are learning to negotiate adulthood with keen
intellects, empathy, and strong constitutions.
LeVan dedicates this book to his friend and mentor,
Rep. John Conyers, Jr., for his unwavering efforts to make unheard voices heard
in the din of American democracy.
Maboudi dedicates this book to his parents, Abdul-Karim
and Nosrat, for their sacrifce and foresight, and
for founding his life’s constitution.
