Constitution-Making and Political Settlements in Times of Transition

Abstract

This special section is an output of the Political Settlement Research Programme – PSRP. The PSRP examines how to use peace processes to create inclusive and open political settlements. This special issue addresses in particular constitution-making and political settlements in times of transition. We consider how constitutional design and adjudication must be understood to have a specific political role in constructing and enabling a political settlement, as in the shared understandings as to how power is to be held and exercised, that forms the political constitution which the constitution attempts to institutionalised. We collectively argue that traditional constitutional devices have to be understood as operating differently in times of transition where the constitution plays a very constructivist role with respect to the forming of agreement, rather than reflecting prior agreement.

Keywords: political settlement, constitution-making, post-conflict, democratisation, transition