The Constitution

In Chap. 5 we traced the development of the basic rights associated with modern liberal democracy. In this chapter we examine the chief defining principles of the constitutions of this form of governance. Overarching these principles is the question of ‘constitutionalism,’ the study of constitutions as the struggle over sovereignty and the institutionalized restrictions on the exercise of power. This concept will be the guide to an analysis of the key elements of modern liberal democratic constitutions: rights as human rights, sovereignty of the people, the rule of law, the separation of powers, and the “new constitutionalism,” which we argue highlight the fundamental change that the modern constitution is undergoing.