The Changing Landscape of Modern Constitutionalism: Transitional Perspective

Abstract

This article deals with the question of whether and to what extent constitutional developments in new democracies have changed our understandings of constitutionalism. We attempt to theorize a changing landscape of constitutionalism and examine its features, functions and characteristics. We first analyze the development of transitional constitutionalism by identifying its features, perspectives, functions, and characteristics. Then we examine to what extent and in what ways the developments in transitional constitutionalism pose challenges to our traditional understanding of modern constitutional laws. Providing possible solutions to the challenges, we finally argue that notwithstanding challenges, the addition of transitional constitutionalism to traditional understandings has expanded the horizon of constitutionalism and created new opportunities for a coming generation of constitutional lawyers.

Keywords: Transitional Constitutionalism, Democratization, Democratic Transitions, Constitutional Change, Constitution-Making

JEL Classification: K30