A Sociology of Constitutions : Constitutions and State Legitimacy in Historical-Sociological Perspective

468 Pages·2011·3.226 MB·English

by  C J Thornhill

A SOCIOLOGY OF CONSTITUTIONS
Using a methodology that both analyses particular constitutional texts
andtheoriesandreconstructstheirhistoricalevolution,ChrisThornhill
examinesthesocialroleandlegitimatingstatusofconstitutionsfromthe
first quasi-constitutional documents of medieval Europe, through the
classicalperiodofrevolutionaryconstitutionalism,torecentprocessesof
constitutional transition. A Sociology of Constitutions explores the rea-
sons why modern societies require constitutions and constitutional
norms, and presents a distinctive socio-normative analysis of the con-
stitutionalpreconditionsofpoliticallegitimacy.
chris thornhill is Professor of European Political Thought and
HeadofPoliticsattheUniversityofGlasgow,wherehisresearchfocuses
both on the relations between legal and political theory and legal and
politicalsociologyandonprocessesofstateformationandconstitution
writingindifferentEuropeansocieties.
http://avaxhome.ws/blogs/ChrisRedfield
cambridge studies in law and society
CambridgeStudiesinLawandSocietyaimstopublishthebestscholarly
work on legal discourse and practice in its social and institutional
contexts,combiningtheoreticalinsightsandempiricalresearch.
Thefieldsthatitcoversare:studiesoflawinaction;thesociologyof
law;theanthropologyoflaw;culturalstudiesoflaw,includingtheroleof
legaldiscoursesinsocialformations;lawandeconomics;lawandpolitics;
andstudiesofgovernance.Thebooksconsiderallformsoflegaldiscourse
acrosssocieties,ratherthanbeinglimitedtolawyers’discoursesalone.
The series editors come from a range of disciplines: academic law,
socio-legalstudies,sociology,andanthropology.Allhavebeenactively
involvedinteachingandwritingaboutlawincontext.
Serieseditors
Chris Arup MonashUniversity,Victoria
Martin Chanock LaTrobeUniversity,Melbourne
Pat O’Malley UniversityofSydney
Sally Engle Merry NewYorkUniversity
Susan Silbey MassachusettsInstituteofTechnology
Booksintheseries
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Mariana Valverde
ThePoliticsofTruthandReconciliationinSouthAfrica:Legitimizingthe
Post-apartheidState
Richard A. Wilson
ModernismandtheGroundsofLaw
Peter Fitzpatrick
UnemploymentandGovernment:GenealogiesoftheSocial
William Walters
AutonomyandEthnicity:NegotiatingCompetingClaimsinMulti-ethnic
States
Yash Ghai
Constituting Democracy: Law, Globalism and South Africa’s Political
Reconstruction
Heinz Klug
TheRitualofRightsinJapan:Law,Society,andHealthPolicy
Eric A. Feldman
TheInventionofthePassport:Surveillance,CitizenshipandtheState
John Torpey
GoverningMorals:ASocialHistoryofMoralRegulation
Alan Hunt
The Colonies of Law: Colonialism, Zionism and Law in Early Mandate
Palestine
Ronen Shamir
LawandNature
David Delaney
SocialCitizenshipandWorkfareintheUnitedStatesandWesternEurope:
TheParadoxofInclusion
Joel F. Handler
Law, Anthropology and the Constitution of the Social: Making Persons
andThings
EditedbyAlain PottageandMartha Mundy
Judicial Review and Bureaucratic Impact: International and
InterdisciplinaryPerspectives
EditedbyMarc HertoghandSimon Halliday
ImmigrantsattheMargins:Law,Race,andExclusioninSouthernEurope
Kitty Calavita
LawyersandRegulation:ThePoliticsoftheAdministrativeProcess
Patrick Schmidt
LawandGlobalizationfromBelow:TowardaCosmopolitanLegality
Edited by Boaventura de Sousa Santos and Cesar A. Rodriguez-
Garavito
PublicAccountability:Designs,DilemmasandExperiences
EditedbyMichael W. Dowdle
Law,ViolenceandSovereigntyamongWestBankPalestinians
Tobias Kelly
LegalReformandAdministrativeDetentionPowersinChina
Sarah Biddulph
ThePracticeofHumanRights:TrackingLawBetweentheGlobalandthe
Local
EditedbyMark GoodaleandSally Engle Merry
JudgesBeyondPoliticsinDemocracyandDictatorship:LessonsfromChile
Lisa Hilbink
PathstoInternationalJustice:SocialandLegalPerspectives
EditedbyMarie-Be´ne´dicte DembourandTobias Kelly
Law and Society in Vietnam: The Transition from Socialism in
ComparativePerspective
Mark Sidel
Constitutionalizing Economic Globalization: Investment Rules and
Democracy’sPromise
David Schneiderman
TheNewWorldTradeOrganizationKnowledgeAgreements:2ndEdition
Christopher Arup
JusticeandReconciliationinPost-ApartheidSouthAfrica
EditedbyFrançois du BoisandAntje du Bois-Pedain
Militarization and Violence against Women in Conflict Zones in the
MiddleEast:APalestinianCaseStudy
Nadera Shalhoub-Kevorkian
ChildPornographyandSexualGrooming:LegalandSocietalResponses
Suzanne Ost
DarfurandtheCrimeofGenocide
John HaganandWenona Rymond-Richmond
PlantedFlags:Trees,Land,andLawinIsrael/Palestine
Irus Braverman
FictionsofJustice:TheInternationalCriminalCourtandtheChallengeof
LegalPluralisminSub-SaharanAfrica
Kamari Maxine Clarke
Conducting Law and Society Research: Reflections on Methods and
Practices
Simon HallidayandPatrick Schmidt
Culture under Cross-Examination: International Justice and the Special
CourtforSierraLeone
Tim Kelsall
The Gacaca Courts and Post-genocide Justice and Reconciliation in
Rwanda:JusticewithoutLawyers
Phil Clark
WateronTap:RightsandRegulationintheTransnationalGovernanceof
UrbanWaterServices
Bronwen Morgan
A Sociology of Constitutions: Constitutions and State Legitimacy in
Historical-SociologicalPerspective
Chris Thornhill
A SOCIOLOGY OF
CONSTITUTIONS
Constitutions and State Legitimacy in
Historical-Sociological Perspective
CHRIS THORNHILL
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Firstpublished2011
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Thornhill,C.J.(ChristopherJ.),1966–
ASociologyofConstitutions:ConstitutionsandStateLegitimacyinHistorical-Sociological
Perspective/ChrisThornhill.
p. cm.–(CambridgeStudiesinLawandSociety)
Includesbibliographicalreferencesandindex.
ISBN978-0-521-11621-3(hardback)
1. Constitutionalhistory. 2. Constitutionallaw–Socialaspects. I. Title. II. Series.
K3161.T486 2011
342.0209–dc22
2010051564
ISBN978-0-521-11621-3(hardback)
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