This 2001 volume investigates the nature of constitutionaldemocratic government in the United States and elsewhere. Theeditors introduce a basic conceptual framework which thecontributors clarify and develop in eleven essays organized intothree separate sections. The first section deals withconstitutional founding and the founders' use of cultural symbolsand traditions to facilitate acceptance of a new regime. The seconddiscusses alternative constitutional structures and their effectson political outcomes. The third focuses on processes ofconstitutional change and on why founders might choose to makeformal amendments relatively difficult or easy to achieve. The bookis distinctive because it provides comprehensive tools foranalyzing and comparing different forms of constitutionaldemocracy. These tools are discussed in ways that will be ofinterest to students and readers in political science, law, historyand political philosophy.
