Comparative Constitution-Making: National and International Politics

Constitution-making has become a central arena of national and international politics, especially since the end of the Cold War. This course examines how constitutions are drafted, amended, contested, and implemented, and how these processes shape democracy, rights, state authority, and political conflict in moments of transition, crisis, and institutional reform. It also considers the political, social, institutional, and international factors that shape constitution-making processes. It asks whether public participation makes constitutions more democratic, whether constitutional models can be imposed or transferred across borders, how international actors influence constitutional design, and why authoritarian regimes adopt written constitutions. The course combines comparative theory with historical and contemporary case studies from different regions, with Israel serving as a central case. Israel’s prolonged, incomplete, and contested constitutional development offers a revealing lens for examining broader questions about nationhood, religion, minority rights, courts, democratic institutions, and the politics of constitutional change.